LAKEWOOD — The Cougars showed they are determined to leave last year’s mistakes behind.

In a 48-14 drubbing of Coupeville, Lakewood opened Cascade Conference play with a bang Sept. 17 at home.

“Where we are this year is a head above least season and this team has shown that with its work ethic over the summer,” said Lakewood coach Dan Teeter. “We were determined to go out there and compete and when we spread teams out, we’re hard to stop.”

Lakewood began 2010 with a 2-0 record, which was the same a year ago, but struggled once conference play hit, including a difficult loss to the Wolves last season. The Cougars were out to right the wrongs of a year ago.

But it wasn’t exactly easy as this win was dominant but sloppy at times. The first quarter saw a pair of interceptions, a fumble and a kick return for a touchdown.

Lakewood and Coupeville traded touchdowns to begin with, on Lane’s five-yard strike to Dustin Stanton and a two-yard TD run by Christian Melton. While Lakewood drove down the field for their scores, Coupeville didn’t have to, earning their first on a 75-yard kickoff return and taking advantage of a broken down play that saw Coupeville’s quarterback Ian Smith turn a broken down play on third-and-long to a 40-yard touchdown pass.

With all of the happenings in the first 12 minutes, it was hard to tell which team held an advantage, despite leading 23-14.

“When I looked up after the first quarter, I was surprised to see we were winning,” said sophomore wide receiver Justin Peterson. “I had no idea what the score was. It was kind of hard to keep track with everything that went on.”

But Lakewood earned another pair of touchdowns courtesy of sophomore halfback Donovan Evans, who caught a four-yard pass by Lane and ran in another from nine yards out. He finished the day gaining 126 yards on 16 carries. Evans and Melton (eight carries, 117 yards) kept Coupeville off balance as the Wolves tried to defend the pass most of the night.

Leading 35-14 at halftime, the Cougars came out and shut out the Wolves in the second half, while adding to their lead on runs by Peterson and freshman Keana Jackson, who scored on his birthday.

Lane finished going 20-of-34 for 234 yards and three touchdowns to go along with a trio of interceptions.

Looking ahead, Lakewood has another home game against Granite Falls Sept. 24.