Five years ago, best friends Toby Seim and Azubo Bearden were all about “sharing hoop dreams.” Now they’re every defensive back’s nightmare as pass-catching standouts for the unbeaten Whatcom Raiders of the Cascade Football League.

Seim, 24, and Bearden, 22, both played football well on losing teams at Bellingham High School. They earned far more recognition on state trophy winning-basketball teams, however, and both figured that would be their college sport.

They were solid in community college hoops, and Seim even played a season in the International Basketball League, but they’re learning their real future could be in football.

They wound up with the Raiders under unexpected circumstances, but made an immediate impact as the team won the conference title last year. This season, they’re averaging about three touchdown catches combined per game for the Raiders (7-0), a semi-pro football team.

Head coach Brian Young played in an East Coast indoor pro football league after four years of college ball at Towson University in Baltimore. He says Seim and Bearden rank with the best receivers he saw while playing nine years of minor league ball.

Young, both 44, says receivers have the moves, speed and athleticism to be invited to pro camps in Canada, Europe or on the indoor circuit. The two players, good friends since middle-school days in Bellingham, say they want to give pro football of some type their best shot over the next couple of years while they’re still young.

Seim, a 2003 Bellingham graduate, drew roars from the fans with his acrobatic dunks for the Red Raiders, who finished fourth in the Class 3A State Basketball Tournament his senior year.

On his last chance as a high jumper in the Washington vs. Oregon track and field meet, Seim cleared 7 feet only a few days after claiming a state championship with a 6-8 leap.

“I had letters from coaches,” the 6-foot-4 Seim said of what could have been a Division I track career. “But I really thought I wanted to play basketball. I started for one year at North Seattle Community College and I played another year in the IBL for the Lewis County Raptors. I still love basketball, but my focus is entirely on football now.”

How did he wind up with the Raiders?

“I went to the first game last season and told myself I could play,” said Seim, who received plenty of encouragement from Bearden. “I challenged myself.”

“Toby was so good as a rookie, he won Minor League All- America honors,” Young said of Seim, who caught six touchdown passes in one game this season. “I call him ‘Plastic Man.’ With his leaping and athletic ability, Toby is a serious prospect.”

As for Bearden, Bellingham fans wouldn’t recognize their former second-team all-state wide receiver, who also played a lot of quarterback even though he was 5-8 in high school. He’s now a 6-footer.

Bearden helped the Red Raiders win a fifth-place trophy in 2004 after he teamed with Seim as a junior on the fourth-place team. In eight state tournament games, Bearden helped the Red Raiders go 6-2 under Ken Crawford, now the women’s coach at Biola University in Southern California.

“I’m the one who gave Az his nickname, ‘The Wizard of Az,’ when he was at Whatcom Community College,” said Young.

“Now I call him ‘The Gazelle.’ It took me a little while to talk ‘The Gazelle’ into coming out for football after I became coach. But I remembered how quick he was in his two years at WCC, so I just knew I wanted him for our team.”

Young said it also took him a while to convince his quarterbacks, Donald Buchanan and Bret Smith, that if they got the ball anywhere near Seim, he could make the catch.

“If you put the ball within 14 feet of Toby, he is probably going to make the catch,” Young said. “He is making some amazing catches for us. His video highlights have to be seen to be believed.”

“Toby is definitely worth the price of admission,” Bearden said. “He also makes some wicked blocks. He’s one of the more physical receivers in the league.”