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Friday Harbor boys post school’s
best league record since 1972 Friday Harbor seniors Chris Benz, Dylan Gerhardstein, Eric Rothlisberger, Sal Ukra, John Hamilton and Chad Stoddard secured an undefeated conference record during their final home game of their high school careers.
By Matt Pranger
posted 2/11/2006
Friday Harbor boys basketball team clinched its school’s first undefeated regular season 34 years by thumping Coupeville 51-33 Tuesday, Feb. 14. Friday completed Northwest A/B League action 14-0 and eliminated Coupeville, 9-5, from post-season play.
"It’s a great feeling," said Friday Harbor senior Dylan Gerhardstein after the victory. "It’s so unbelievable that we’re undefeated."
"It feels really good," said senior Chad Stoddard. "We knew we could do it if we worked hard all season."
"We played one of our best defensive games of the year," said senior John Hamilton. "We had very good team offense and team defense."
"I’m really proud of, and I’m really happy for our players," said Friday Harbor coach Rod Turnbull. "They put in a lot of hard work to get to this point."
Turnbull said Friday Harbor High School’s first perfect league record since 1972 is the culmination of many San Juan Islanders supporting this season’s players over the years. "It’s nice to see that come all together," Turnbull said.
Friday Harbor advances to the Class A Tri-District and State tournaments. The Wolverines, the No. 4 ranked Class A team, is scheduled to play No. 2-ranked Bellevue Chrisitian at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23 at Cedar Park Christian in Bothell. (Friday Harbor school officials are attempting to move the start time up so Islanders will not have to spend the night.) Win or lose, the Wolverines play Saturday, Feb. 25 at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Friday Harbor’s defense shut down Coupeville in the first half, limiting the Wolves to 4 points in the first quarter and 6 in the second period. Junior Tyler Hart canned a three-pointer with a second remaining in the first half to put the Wolverines up 25-10.
The Wolverines continued to patiently move the ball around for the open shot in the second half and built a 35-19 lead after three quarters. Stoddard swatted away a three-point attempt at the buzzer.
Stoddard led the Wolverines with 15 points and several rebounds and blocked shots. "Chad stepped up big for us," Hamilton said.
Hart chipped in 10 points and Hamilton contributed 9. Other Friday Harbor scorers were: Gerhardstein 7, Brock McNairy 4, Tommy Fowler 3, Eric Rothlisberger 2 and Chris Benz 1.
Kramer O’Keefe topped Coupeville scorers with 9.
Friday Harbor’s seniors -- Sal Ukra, Benz, Eric Rothlisberger, Stoddard, Gerhardstein and Hamilton, completed the regular season of their final high school career 18-2.
"I can’t believe I won’t ever play on this floor again," Stoddard said. "It’s kind of sad."
Stoddard and his teammates now begin working on the next phase of their season. "We got more work to do," he said.
Stoddard named WIAA/Seattle Times State Athlete of the Week
posted 2/15/2006
Friday Harbor senior Chad Stoddard was selected a WIAA/Seattle Times State Athlete of the Week for Class 1A last week. Stoddard scored 19 points and grabbed rebounds in a 66-46 win over La Conner and pumped in 17 points and yanked down 10 rebounds in a 55-47 win over Shoreline Christian.
Friday Harbor Hoopla today
Wolverine girls seek share of league title;
Boys can clinch undefeated conference record
posted 2/14/2006
Friday Harbor High School basketball fans couldn’t ask for a more thrilling end to the 2005-2006 regular season when Coupeville visits today: The Wolverine girls can gain a share of the Northwest A/B League title and force a tie-breaker game for a state-qualifying berth; Friday Harbor’s boys can secure a perfect league record.
Wolverine fans should arrive early for the games -- the girls tip off at 4:30 p.m. and the boys start at 6 p.m. -- because Coupeville is bringing a rooter bus.
"We want standing room only," said Friday Harbor boys basketball coach Rod Turnbull.
"Be as rowdy as possible," said Friday Harbor senior Sarah Anderson. "We have to be loud to drown them out."
Friday Harbor girls are 9-4, one game back of Coupeville. If the Wolverines win, the teams will meet again in a tiebreaker this weekend to determine the Northwest District’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams to the Class A Tri-District Tournament. The top District 1 team receives an automatic berth to the state tournament.
Friday Harbor girls coach Steve Anderson believes the pressure is on Coupeville. "It really becomes a must-win for them,” said Friday Harbor coach Steve Anderson. “We want to win."
Coupeville’s boys are truly in a must-win situation: The Wolves, 9-4 in league, need a victory to secure the conference’s No. 2 seed to the Tri-District Tournament. If Coupeville loses, that berth will likely go to La Conner (8-5). The Braves, who beat the Wolves in both meetings this season, play at winless Concrete today.
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