Behind a defense that produced six turnovers, the South Whidbey High School football team clubbed host Coupeville 35-7 to spoil the Wolves’ homecoming game Friday, Oct. 18.

The Coupeville miscues weren’t the only gift the Falcons received Friday. South Whidbey retained The Bucket, the traveling “trophy” that is awarded to the winner of the annual rivalry game. Also, in other North Sound Conference action, King’s, a one-win team, surprised one-loss Cedar Park Christian in a big way, 52-6.

That opened the door for South Whidbey to sneak back into the title race after losing to CPC a week ago. Four of the five North Sound teams — South Whidbey, Cedar Park Christian, Granite Falls and King’s — now have one loss.

CPC and Granite Falls play one more league game; South Whidbey and King’s play two each.

Sultan is 0-2 in league play and 1-6 overall. Coupeville is playing an independent schedule this fall as it tries to revive its program.

The Falcons (1-1, 5-2) host Granite Falls (2-1, 3-4) at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, and close out the regular season at King’s (1-1, 2-5) at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1.

South Whidbey 35, Coupeville 7

South Whidbey failed to turn the first two Coupeville turnovers into points. After recovering a fumble, the Falcons marched to a first-and-goal opportunity, but the Wolves’ defense turned back the threat.

After recovering another Coupeville fumble, South Whidbey fumbled it right back.

The third time was the charm.

An interception of a Coupeville halfback pass set up a 26-yard Billy Rankin TD run. Kole Nelson kicked the first of five PATs.

Rankin haunted the Wolves again with a 40-yard punt return that set the stage for Aiden Coleman’s three-yard touchdown run, and South Whidbey led 14-0 at the break.

After halftime, the Falcons quickly doubled their lead.

Another interception of another halfback pass gave South Whidbey possession. It looked like the Falcons might waste another take-away when they faced a fourth-and-11, but Nelson hit Brady Hezel with a 35-yard TD pass to make it 21-0.

On the first play after the ensuring kickoff, Coupeville fumbled the ball back to the Falcons. Two plays later Bodie Hezel bulled in for a score, helping South Whidbey produce 14 points in a span of 24 seconds of game time.

The last Coupeville turnover led directly to the final South Whidbey points, as Brady Hezel stung the Wolves with a 60-yard pick-6.

Coupeville earned its only points on the following kickoff when Sean Toomey-Stout returned it 55 yards for a touchdown.