LAKEWOOD It was Homecoming week at Lakewood and the host Cougars wanted to make sure that no Coupeville Red Wolves crashed their party.
Yeah, the Cougars may have entered the game winless, but that didnt stop them from playing a fired up game Friday, Oct. 20.
Lakewood (1-5 in league play and 1-7 overall) fought, clawed, danced and celebrated throughout their 48 minutes of play en route to their 34-22 Homecoming victory over Coupeville (2-4, 4-4).
After quarterback Jay Wettlaufer fumbled on their first possession at the Coupeville 1-yard line, it looked like it may be a long night for the festive hosts.
Lets get two, the coaching staff yelled in reference to a defensive safety.
Sure enough, senior TJ Regan stuffed the Red Wolves attempted rush in the backfield and the Cougars had an early 2-0 lead with 6:44 left in the first quarter.
The crimson and white clad Cougars got on the scoreboard again a handful of plays later on a Dallas Smith field goal to increase their lead to 5-0 with 5:01 in the first frame.
Coupeville responded with a 31-yard touchdown run, but their two-point conversion failed and they led 6-5 just into the second quarter.
Trailing 13-5 about five minutes later, first-year coach Dan Teeter told his squad to keep your heads up.
Senior Shane Holland hauled in an acrobatic 59-yard touchdown catch from Wettlaufer, and the two-point conversion from Dan Borisov failed, bringing the Cougars within two at 13-11 with just less than six minutes remaining in the half.
Wettlaufer finished the night 3-for-7 passing for 91 yards and two TDs.
Coupeville once again responded and added a field goal to expand their lead to 16-11 with 19 ticks on the clock.
Borisov added a 33-yard rush and Coupeville was called for a defensive pass interference that gave the Cougars new life with seconds remaining.
Smith took advantage of the opportunity and nailed a 38-yard field goal to make it a 16-14 ballgame heading into the locker room.
With thick fog surrounding the field, a packed house enjoyed a brief fireworks show, a marching band performance and the Homecoming court being honored in a festive celebration.
Junior Ernest Mitchell keyed an opening scoring drive with strong runs and capped it off with a 2-yard touchdown plunge to put the Cougars on top 20-16 three minutes into the third quarter.
Mitchell struck again when he intercepted a pass and returned it all the way to the end zone to increase the lead to 27-16 with 3:05 remaining.
The vocal fans, Lakewood coaching staff and entire team were beginning to smell something that had eluded them for their first seven games their first victory.
Ernest made some mistakes in the first half, but was a huge help in the second for us, coach Teeter said.
This was the best game of the season by far.
Playing the role of the spoiler, the Red Wolves came right back and made it a 27-22 game at the end of third quarter.
Mitchell was all smiles as he strolled along the sidelines with his teammates.
The first half was a little rough with three fumbles on offense, but we just never quit, he said with a childlike smile. Our coaches always tell us to never quit and thats what we did. I think I did pretty good individually. This is just a great feeling.
The junior running back ended up with two TDs and credited some of his finesse moves to his gridiron idol Reggie Bush. Mitchell finished with 77 yards rushing and two TDs.
The Cougars effectively killed the clock in the games final frame and put the nail in the Red Wolves coffin when Wettlaufer once again connected with Borisov on a 6-yard TD pass.
Despite the fact that Smith fell just after kicking the extra point, the ball found its way through the uprights for a 34-22 lead that stood for the final score.
Teeter, surrounded by jubilant players and fans alike, didnt hesitate in crediting both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
Hunter Venturo, Dallas Smith, Kelvin Mansfield and TJ Regan all did a great job tonight, Teeter said.
Mansfield, one of the stars of the game, said he and his teammates had a lot of love and pride during Homecoming week.
This is just the best feeling of the season, he said. We were really fired up and it was the first time we came out really pumped up.

At Lakewood H.S.

Coupeville 0 16 6 0 22
Lakewood 5 9 13 7 34
Records- Coupeville: 2-4 in league play and 4-4 overall. Lakewood 1-5, 1-7.