GRANITE FALLS – Baseball has been very, very good to the Granite Falls Tigers and it’s likewise with football.
Fresh off of winning the Class 2A state championship in baseball last May, the Tigers are now undefeated through five football games after Friday night’s 16-7 homecoming victory over the Coupeville Wolves in a Cascade Conference clash played before a standing room only crowd.
“If you start looking at that baseball team half of them are out here,” Granite Falls coach Eric Dinwiddie said of his senior-laden team. “They walk around with their (championship) rings and say ‘Guys, let’s get one of these.’”
A 5-0 record (3-0 in league) is as good a way as any for the Tigers to start towards that goal.
Against Coupeville (1-2 in league, 3-2 overall) Granite Falls’ smothering defensive effort was the key to victory, as has been the case in four previous triumphs.
“That’s been the key all year long, we hit and tackling everyday, even on Thursdays,” Dinwiddie said. “The kids are buying into it … these guys just love to play defense. “
Jullian Gamache, the lone junior on a defensive unit featuring 10 senior starters, agreed defense is paramount, especially if the offense struggles.
“Defense is our big thing,” Gamache, a linebacker who had a tackle for a 5-yard loss and a quarterback sack for a 13-yard loss. “We feel like we can score points, but when we don’t our defense carries us through.”
After the Granite Falls defense allowed a single first down in the opening half, Granite Falls missed out on a couple of scoring opportunities and settled for a 10-7 first-half lead.
The Tigers seized control of a close game on their opening possession of the second half.
The Tigers mixed the running of Gamache (with runs of 14, 6 and 9 yards) along with Zac Londerville and Brandon Brown to travel 51 yards on a 13-play drive, capped by quarterback Billy Villegas’ 1-yard scoring plunge that made the score 16-7.
That proved to be enough with a defensive effort led by the likes of Sean Counley, who had two tackles for a loss and a critical quarterback sack when Coupeville was on the march in the late going of the game, looking to close the gap and perhaps get the ball back on an onside kick.
Brown’s interception with 1:38 remaining to be played stifled any chance the Wolves had of pulling out a victory.
Sean Nelson sparked the otherwise sluggish Tigers’ offensive effort in the first, before leaving the game in the second quarter with an undetermined lower left leg injury.
A high snap on a punt resulted in a boot that netted minus-12 yards on Coupeville’s first series, Granite Falls took possession of the ball at the Wolves 29-yard line.
On a third down at the Wolves’ 8-yard line Villegas fired a scoring strike to Nelson running a slant pattern across the goal line to cap the nine-play drive. Nelson’s conversion kick gave Granite Falls a 7-0 lead with 5:44 remaining in the first quarter.
“I saw the gap between two guys and led him,” Villegas said. “He caught it just like I knew he would.”
Late in the first quarter, Nelson fielded a punt near midfield and his 38-yard return gave Granite Falls a first down at the Coupeville 10-yard line.
An open field tackle by Coupeville’s Alex Evans – a defensive force throughout the game – prevented a touchdown.
Backed up deep, the Wolves’ defense held strong. Three plays netted 6 yards and Granite Falls settled for Nelson’s 21-yard field goal and a 10-0 lead in the opening minute of the second quarter.
After struggling on offense for the majority of the first two quarters, Coupeville got untracked in the waning minutes of the half.
With less than a minute to play, Coupeville quarterback James Smith rolled to his left and threw a long pass to Casey Larson, who made a sensational catch near the pylon for a touchdown to bring the Wolves within 10-7 at the half.
At Granite Falls H.S.
Coupeville0700-7
Granite Falls7360-16
Granite Falls-Nelson 8 pass from Villegas (Nelson kick)
Granite Falls-FG Nelson 21
Coupeville-Larson 25 pass from Smith (Evans kick)
Granite Falls-Villegas 1 run (Villegas kick failed)
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