By Nathan Joyce
MaxPreps.com
One basketball coach's impressive career hit another milestone last week.
Ed Pepple, who has coached boys basketball at Mercer Island since 1967, quietly recorded his 900th career win last week.
No. 900 came in a 67-65 win over Mount Si Dec. 5. It's a staggering amount of wins in a sport where 500 wins is considered the benchmark for a Hall of Fame career.
Pepple's career record, and also the state record, is 900-284 (as of Sunday night) in 46 years of coaching at Mercer Island, Fife and Mark Morris in Longview.
Pepple, 74, has won four state titles and the only losing season he's had in long, storied career came last season at 11-13.
Basketball: Lake Oswego Still Tops
It was a matchup of teams considered the best in their state, and among the best in the nation. And, as it has happened in the past, Oregon showed Washington too much Love.
Kevin Love, a 6-foot-10, UCLA-bound forward considered one of the best players in the nation, had 36 points and 19 rebounds as Lake Oswego beat Franklin of Seattle, the defending Class 4A state champs, 69-62 in the Les Schwab Hoop Challenge at Bellevue Community College.
It's the second-straight year that Lake Oswego, which also won a state title last year, has dominated a state champ from its neighboring state. Last year, the Lakers beat O'Dea, which at the time had won two-straight Class 3A titles.
"It means a lot to win because Franklin's the best team in the state of Washington," Love told the Seattle Times. "It was a great test for us. It's a great feeling for us to take everyone's best shot. It makes us better."
Venoy Overton, who has committed to USC, led the Quakers with 19 points.
Here's a look at some other key games as basketball season heated up around the state:
At the South Sound Classic at the Tacoma Dome, Federal Way beat Mount Tahoma 75-52 in a matchup of top-five teams in the state.Top-ranked Rainier Beach knocked off defending state champs Seattle Prep 76-70 in an early season Metro League showdown. .In girls action, No. 1 Chief Sealth, ranked No. 12 in the nation by Sportsillustrated.com, beat Seattle Prep 64-49 in matchup of top-five teams.Rogers of Spokane ended a losing streak that bettered 70 games against Greater Spokane League opponents, beating Mount Spokane 64-39.
Football: Oak Harbor Enjoying the Spoils
Oak Harbor won its first Class 4A state football title Dec. 1, and the players and coaches have been loving life ever since. Oak Harbor beat Bothell 21-14 for the title in the Tacoma Dome.
The football title was the first state title in any sport for the Whidbey Island school. The team was part of the town's annual holiday parade and the school held a special assembly. Two restaurants in town have fed the team.
"I would be coaching the rest of my life even without this," Oak Harbor coach Dave Ward told the Seattle Times.
Ward has coached at Oak Harbor for 16 years, and the state title was win No. 100.
"But to see what this really meant to the entire community has been amazing."
And maybe the best part for the team is that it will open next season in a new stadium. The stands at Oak Harbor were condemned, and the team has played its home games at Mount Vernon High School the last two years.
The $7.5 million facility will feature 3,000 seats and artificial turf.
"It has all come together," Oak Harbor athletic director Bob Smithson said. "The state-championship team will open next season in a new stadium. It's the culmination of five years of work. It shows what can happen when an entire community converges to fill a need."
Football: Henderson Commits to Eastern
Toney Henderson, an uber-athletic three-sport star from Gig Harbor, has committed to play football at Eastern Washington.
The 5-foot-9, 170-pound senior had offers from Montana and Idaho.
Henderson, who has won two state track titles in jumping events, told his coach, Darren McKay, that the familiarity with several players drew him to Cheney. Gig Harbor has sent several players to Eastern, including All-American tackle Matt Alfred.
Cross Country: Two in the Top 15 at Nationals
Jake Riley, the Class 2A state champ from Bellingham, and Seattle Prep's Max O'Donoghue-McDonald, the two-time Class 3A state champ, who has committed to Washington, took 14th and 15th at the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships in Eugene, Ore.
Riley ran the course in 15 minutes, 45 seconds, a second ahead of O'Donoghue-McDonald, who was 26 seconds behind winner Chad Hall of California.