Borseys lead Lummi into state semis
Blackhawks coach Jim Sandusky arrived at Lummi Nation High School on a Saturday last spring for some work, but as he got closer to the facility he couldn’t help but notice two figures running about Lummi’s football field.
The weather wasn’t great, and as Sandusky moved closer, the on-field scene came into sharper focus.
“They were tackling each other, one was tackling the other,” Sandusky said. “I was thinking, ‘Wow, that is kind of different.’ They had no pads on. They were doing full-on tackling. ... I had to stop them, ‘Hey you guys, you know what, you have to be careful. You shouldn’t be doing this full speed, full-on tackling.’”
While the training seemed unorthodox to Sandusky, for identical twins Raven Borsey and Free Borsey, the workout served as just another way for them to inch closer toward their football goals.
The junior brothers and captains have been a model of leadership and strong work ethic for Lummi (9-2), which will face rival Neah Bay (9-0) in the Class 1B State Playoff semifinals at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 27, at the Tacoma Dome.
As for the unique tackling drill, Free offered some reasoning.
The Borseys’ uncle told them a story about when he was younger he would play catch with a rock, throwing it high into the air, and the threat of it falling down and hitting him would help ensure he didn’t miss it.
“So we were kind of scared of tackling,” Free explained. “We were small. We weren’t too big. So when we tackled with no gear, it kind of started to take that fear away, so when you put gear on you know you aren’t going to get hurt.”
Sandusky said the Borseys have developed into two of the best tacklers he’s ever had. And what makes them so good? It’s the fearlessness they exude.
Playing eight-man football, Free and Raven move around to different defensive positions, but primarily they play defensive back spots.
“It helped us a lot,” Raven said of his brother’s and his offseason training. “We got complimented a lot on our footwork, because we did a lot of footwork drills over the summer. We did a lot at home, but we came to the field when we could in our spare time. We got better at hitting and tackling.”
Powering the Borseys’ motivation to improve is two-fold. First, they hope their work leads to opportunity at the next level. The other reason is they are tired of losing to rival Neah Bay.
The Red Devils have beat the Blackhawks nine straight times, and given the two meet in the 1B semifinals nearly every season, Lummi needs to get past Neah Bay in order to obtain its state-championship goal.
“It comes from losing to Neah Bay my whole high school career, and the drive to beat them kept eating at me,” Raven said.
The Blackhawks already lost to the Red Devils once this year, taking a 62-12 road defeat, so Lummi will need mistake-free football Friday and undoubtedly big efforts from the Borseys on both sides of the field.
Free and Raven, on offense, combine with Trazil Lane to form a dynamic receiving corps, catching passes from senior quarterback Jonathan Casimir.
But before Lane joined Lummi roughly midway through the season, the Borseys’ offensive consistency was crucial.
Having a twin, Free said, has allowed both of them to hold each other accountable and ultimately flourish this fall.
“Having a brother on a team is so fun,” Free said, “because you have someone to motivate you and you have so much chemistry built with him.”
They are both hoping that strong bond helps the Blackhawks pull out a big win at the Dome.
This story was originally published November 26, 2015 at 5:46 PM with the headline "Borseys lead Lummi into state semis."