The notoriously domesticated herd of Coupeville deer that have been heavily criticized by residents of the town in recent months are now, apparently, football fans.

At a high school football game last Friday night, photographer John Fisken captured a series of photos of a black-tailed deer taking the field in the Coupeville game against La Conner. She was accompanied by her fawn.

The intrusion happened during the second half of the game. Coupeville sports blogger David Svien said he saw the pair of ungulates saunter out during a break in the action, pause for a moment and then bolt across the field.

This was not the first time the deer have attended a Wolves’ game. Back in 2018, a video of a deer that ran ahead of a touchdown-scoring player into the end zone went viral.

Nevertheless, Friday’s event was still an unexpected and exciting occurrence. Coupeville High School Athletic Director Willie Smith said the teams were just lining up before a play when the deer approached from the end zone and meandered onto the field.

“We just got them eligible this week and put them in the game,” Smith joked.

They eventually headed in the direction of the elementary school and jumped the fence before disappearing from sight. Coupeville High School Football Coach Marcus Carr said he saw them run 70 yards down the field.

Smith said it is odd that he has never seen the deer make an appearance at track meets held on the same field.

“They must be football fans or something,” he said.

The Coupeville team was victorious that night, with a final score of 51-0.

“Our kids played really well and it was nice to get a win like that,” Smith said.

Photo by John Fisken A doe and her fawn briefly joined the Coupeville High School football game Friday night, before running off the field.