Whatcom football preview, week 3 — keep your eye on Lynden’s versatile Charlie Ayres
Charlie Ayres is more than one of the best defensive players in the Northwest Conference in his only season as a starter — the Lynden senior is also perhaps the most mentally and physically adaptable.
Not many athletes could see a longtime dream of becoming his high school’s star quarterback vanish, only to develop into a middle linebacker good enough to make 16 tackles against a team as tough as Ferndale. He’s also a better-than-average running back.
Now Ayres will try to help all the seniors buck up after most of them played in their first high school football loss on any level when the Golden Eagles beat the Lions 17-14 in Week One at Lynden.
Senior line leaders Kuyper Assink and Bennett Roorda played in Lynden’s previous loss, 35-25 in Week Two of 2021, before moving on to help the Lions achieve a state-leading 24-game win streak. The other 23 seniors had never lost on the freshman and junior varsity levels as well as in limited varsity minutes.
“It meant a lot to me when coaches (Blake) Van Dalen and (Blake) Witman came to me to talk about playing linebacker as a backup last season,” said Ayres, who nonetheless also remained a backup quarterback as a junior after entering the season as a substitute defensive back as well.
Ayres is still the backup quarterback behind 6-foot-6, 220-pound junior Brant Heppner, who ran for three touchdowns and passed for two in Lynden’s 48-6 win over W.F. West in Week Two. Ayres enjoyed the chance to polish his quarterback skills in the second half, scoring on a 2-yard keeper while finishing with seven carries for 40 yards.
Ayres was unbeaten as a quarterback for three non-varsity teams at Lynden, but he emerged to enjoy some meaningful varsity minutes as a linebacker and on special teams last season as the Lions won their second consecutive Class 2A state championship.
“Charlie was our Scout Team Player of the Year (as a reserve linebacker) and he gave our offense fits in practice,” Van Dalen said. “He could have just stood back there on the sideline and pouted, but instead he jumped in and made a difference.”
But mentally strong Charlie Ayres, also a valuable basketball and track team member, is not one to pout. He’s a realist. The 6-foot, 185-pound athlete, who has a 3.8 grade-point average, could see the quarterback potential that Heppner displayed as a sophomore.
“Brant has the body and the work ethic to be outstanding,” Ayres said. “He’s our hardest worker in the weight room.” Ayres is no slouch either, an impressed Van Dalen confirms.
Ferndale’s defense was so tough that the Golden Eagles limited the Lions to an uncharacteristic 38 plays on offense, including only 13 rushes. Lynden may not see another defense so stifling in the rest of the regular season, so chances are Ayres will get more opportunities at running back. He carried twice for seven yards in his debut at running back, but he averaged nearly six yards per carry in Week Two.
“Charlie is a real stable kid. His journey has certainly not been scripted,” Van Dalen said. “He’s learned to go with the flow … We’ve had 10 state titles at Lynden and only three of those teams went undefeated.”
The head coach noted that Ayres followed Heppner’s lead in the weight room.
“Charlie changed his body,” Van Dalen said. “He worked out as a linebacker and running back.”
Ayres, the brother of former Lynden quarterback Baylor Ayres, is a proud part of a football family.”
“My dad (former Sehome standout Evan Ayres) played on the offensive line for a Division II national champion at Central (Washington University) in 1995,” Ayres said. “He blocked for (future NFL quarterback) Jon Kitna.” Charlie’s mother, Danielle Ayres, a kindergarten teacher at Fisher Elementary School. was a basketball standout at Redmond High.
Charlie is close to Baylor and admires how his brother found a place where he could grow in college football.
“Last season, Baylor won the starting job at quarterback two or three games into the season at Orange Coast (a community college in Costa Mesa, California) and he won the job again this season,” Charlie said. “I get to see him play on Huddle (a website).
“He’s been an inspiration to me. I’m really happy for Baylor. He was a senior during the Covid season (the abbreviated 2020 season played in February and March 2021). Baylor didn’t play football in his first year in college, but he realized how much he missed it.”
Charlie says he will listen if he receives any college opportunities in football. But at this point, he does know he’s intrigued by a career in pediatric dentistry.”
“I’m also interested in coaching kids,” said Ayres, who recalls how many locals treated him well when he was a ball boy for Lynden in middle school.
“I’m very happy to be where I am,” he said. “On offense, I think I like playing running back now as much as I liked playing quarterback. I love the community and I love the players.”
WEEK THREE
Friday
Squalicum at Lynden, 7 p.m.
Glacier Peak at Ferndale, 7 p.m.
Toppenish at Mount Baker, 6 p.m.
Vashon at Blaine, 7 p.m.
Sehome at Sedro-Woolley, 7 p.m.
Bellingham at Granite Falls, 7 p.m.
Nooksack Valley at King’s, 7 p.m.
Lummi at Darrington, 6 p.m.
Saturday
Bellevue Christian at Lynden Christian, 2 p.m.
King’s Way Christian at Meridian, 5 p.m.
