They’ve made state the past 13 years, but this could be their biggest challenge yet

Losing six players to graduation would hurt any high school football team, especially when all six were two-way starters. But it’s almost an unthinkable hurdle for an eight-man team to lose six two-way starters, especially when those six were as talented and valuable as what Lummi graduated last year.

But as the Associated Press’ Preseason Washington State Prep Football Poll would suggest, it’s not time to write off the top-ranked Class 1B team in the state, just yet.

“I don’t know if I’d call this a rebuilding year,” Lummi coach Jim Sandusky said. “I think it’s going to be an unfolding year, where it could take until mid-season until we know who we are and get guys in the right position.”

The Blackhawks have certainly earned the wait-and-see approach, as this won’t be their first time trying to reload on the run after experiencing big losses.

There’s probably an eighth-grader or two on the roster who wasn’t alive the last time Lummi failed to reach the state playoffs – the Blackhawks have qualified for the 1B state playoffs 13 straight years, dating back to 2004.

They’ve made it to at least the state semifinals five straight years, including last year’s undefeated run to the semifinals before old nemesis Neah Bay clipped the Blackhawks by six points and went on to claim the championship trophy.

But even Sandusky admits getting this year’s team ready to play in November is going to be a bigger project than normal.

The team graduated its top three runners and top three receivers. The only major offensive statistical contributor to return in 2017 is quarterback Dashawn Lawrence, who led the team with 1,179 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 300 yards and two more scores.

“It’s going to be a younger group than I’ve had in the past,” Sandusky said. “We’re going to have to have some guys step up and take on some roles that are going to be essential for us to be a team that Lummi is used to having.”

Though their roster is a little bit smaller than last year (33 this year vs. 40 from a year ago), the Blackhawks think they have the talent to fill the big holes left by last year’s senior class.

“We’ve got good players coming up,” Lawrence said. “Caleb (Revey) is taking Raven Borsey’s spot, and Quincy Lane will do a lot of the things Free Borsey did. They’re both tough and fast. They know what to do, and I think they’ll do pretty good.”

And though a number of faces in the starting lineup will be new this year, many of them already have varsity experience.

“A lot of our guys got quite a bit of experience, because we’d jump out to such big leads last year,” Sandusky said. “We’re not just throwing them into the fire.”

Revey finished fourth on the team with 17 catches for 290 yards and three touchdowns last year, and Sandusky said Lummi will find ways to get him the ball to utilize his athleticism. Lane, meanwhile, is an exciting young receiver that missed three-quarters of last year because of a knee injury.

The team also likely will ask more of James Williams, who is a returning two-way starter that will be used in a variety of different roles this year, Sandusky said.

Andrew Jefferson is another player Lummi is expecting big things from this year, after he saw extended playing time at defensive end last season. He’ll likely also play along the offensive line and could see some time at running back, Sandusky said.

“I think we’ll do pretty good on offense,” Revey said. “Both sides I think we’ll do pretty good. We got a lot of guys back on defense – me, Quincy, Dashawn, James. We all played a lot last year. ... We need to work on learning our routes and learning the plays. We’ve got a bunch of new guys, and we need to work as a team and build chemistry.”

And that might be the biggest hole Lummi has to fill – who’s going to step in and fill the leadership roles that the Borsey twins, Trazil Lane and the other seniors provided last year.

“It doesn’t have to be senior,” Sandusky said. “We could have some sophomores and juniors step up and take roles. We just need to figure out who will take on those roles for us.”

This story was originally published August 31, 2017 at 9:00 AM with the headline "They’ve made state the past 13 years, but this could be their biggest challenge yet."