Braves rout Coupeville in home grid opener

The La Conner Braves are now truly a 50-50 team.

In a good way, that is.

La Conner topped the 50-point mark for the second time in as many games by drubbing non-conference foe Coupeville 53-6 in an impressive home debut at Whittaker Field on Friday.

The Braves were coming off an equally convincing 56-14 victory at Friday Harbor the week before.

The two non-contests followed a similar pattern. In each case, La Conner dominated play up front — able to impose its will in the run game while only grudgingly yielding yardage on the ground.

“Our defensive line played really, really well,” Braves’ head coach Peter Voorhees said afterward. “We completely shut down their run game.”

La Conner, on the other hand, churned out 363 yards rushing, averaging more than 10 yards per carry.

Budda Luna led the victors with 129 yards on six attempts, including a 76-yarder.

Luna’s best moments, however, might have come on the defensive side. He recorded two long interception returns, one a 90-yard pick-six.

“Budda,” stressed Voorhees, “had a super-defensive game. He netted over 160 yards on his two interceptions, which were key plays for us.”

Brady Nelson earned kudos as well from La Conner coaches. Nelson gained 66 yards and produced two scores on seven carries.

And that was just half his story.

Nelson also reeled in two passes — one of which went for a touchdown — from quarterback James Hulbert, who continued his superb start to the 2016 campaign.

“Brady,” Voorhees said, “had a real solid game.”

Hulbert, meanwhile, completed 10 of 13 passes for 169 yards and the TD strike to Nelson. He also ran seven times for another 77 yards.

Hulbert marshaled an attack featuring excellent depth.

Kaden Murdock picked up 48 yards on seven totes. Arjuna Adams netted 43 yards on five attempts.

In all, the Braves amassed more than 500 yards in total offense, allowing them to overcome one problem area — that being an occasional rash of penalties.

“Our kids played physical to the whistle, which is a good thing,” Voorhees said. “But we had more penalties than we like to see. That’s something we’ll work on to clean up this week.

“Still,” he said, “it was great to see our guys getting after it. It was fun to watch.”

Especially when it came to taking Coupeville out of its comfort zone.

“They do a good job with their trap play,” Voorhees said of the 1A Wolves. “But we were able to take that away from them and forced them into stuff they weren’t as comfortable with.”

As a unit, the La Conner defense made matters plenty uncomfortable for the visitors.

Ten Braves recorded solo stops, led by seven unassisted tackles from Cooper Zavala.

Jeffrey Johnson, Harley Hulbert, Kolbe Rasler, Bryce Bolsinger, Nick Reese, Michael Page, James Hulbert, Luna, and Nelson also landed on the hit parade for La Conner.

Johnson was likewise a presence on offense, emerging as a reliable possession receiver. He finished with three grabs totaling 48 yards, highlighted by a 23-yard reception.

The Braves resume NW2B home action this Friday opposite Darrington, 1-1, which returns to varsity play after a one-year hiatus.

The Loggers are coming off a 28-12 league loss to Concrete.

La Conner, though, is leaving nothing to chance.

“Darrington definitely has our attention,” said Voorhees. “They played Concrete pretty tough. So we have to be ready.”

He would like nothing better than a repeat of the past two weeks.

“The kids have done their jobs well so far,” he said. “They’ve stayed focused and disciplined.”