Sports - Sports News

POSTED: Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

PREP FOOTBALL: Williams leads Lummi's rushing game

Among members of the Lummi football team, Eddy Williams is known as "The Beast."

To opposing teams this season, the junior running back and linebacker has simply become a pain to stop on both sides of the ball.

"He's a tough kid," Lummi coach Jim Sandusky said in a phone interview. "He's just a natural athlete. He's built well. He's fast. He's strong. He's become one of our staple players."

With 530 yards rushing and eight touchdowns on the ground this year, Williams has also helped the Blackhawks move to a more balanced offensive attack. That's something the team has missed in recent years, Sandusky said.

"Make no mistake, we can throw the ball," Sandusky said, "but there have been times in the past when we've needed to run the ball to get a first down and run out the clock and haven't really been able to it. That's something I think we can do now."

The Blackhawks will likely never be a run-first team, but thanks to backs like Williams and Kyle Finkbonner they've rushed for 556 more yards as a team this season than last. And once again they find themselves one win away from another trip to the Class 1B state semifinals at the Tacoma Dome.

Lummi (8-3) travels to Tumwater on Friday, Nov. 20, to meet Wishkah Valley (9-2) in the opening round of the Class 1B state playoffs. The Blackhawks beat Wishkah Valley 58-12 to start the season, but the Loggers have won their last nine straight.

"They're a whole different team now," Sandusky said. "They've added a couple of players and when you're talking 8-man that's a big deal. I think when we played them it was the first game of the season and they weren't quite ready to go. We kind of snuck up on them."

Williams had three touchdowns in that game, two rushing and another receiving, something that's become a regular occurrence this year. He's scored at least once in all but one game for Lummi this season. Even when his touches were limited because of an ankle injury he still found a way to make the most of his carries.

"There were a couple of games there were we couldn't use him much, but it seemed like every time he did touch the ball he scored," Sandusky said.

Williams has also made a big impact on defense. Lummi's allowed 230 fewer rushing yards this season and his play from the linebacker position has been a big part of that.

"As a linebacker he just attacks the ball," Sandusky said. "That's something you like to see."

Now the Blackhawks will see if they can reach the state semifinals for the second time in the last three seasons. Last year Lummi got tripped up by Lake Quinault in the opening round of state. This year the Blackhawks will see if an improved running game can push them back to Tacoma.

"We're a different team from Week 1 to Week 10 than we were at start of the season, too," Sandusky said. "A lot changes over the course of a season. Most teams get better as the season goes on and I think we're one of those teams."