Casimir leading Lummi into title game

One of Lummi’s only mysteries as authentic as quarterback Jonathan Casimir’s breakout senior season was Blackhawks coach Jim Sandusky’s decision of who would be starting under center this fall.

Casimir, for the most part, came out of nowhere.

Running back Hank Hoskins and graduated dual-threat player Austin Brockie handled the lionshare of the 2014 quarterbacking duties, while Casimir played sparingly.

Even he admitted few knew of him.

“All the fans freshman year wondered who I am, and last year I didn’t do so well,” Casimir said in a phone interview.

Casimir’s lackluster junior season, an interest in freeing up Hoskins to exclusively play running back and Brockie’s graduation left Sanduksy coming into this fall questioning who would lead his offense.

“Coming into camp at the start of our spring ball, I really didn’t have (Casimir) slated too much as being our starting quarterback,” Sandusky admitted in a phone interview. “I didn’t really have him there. My thought was Hank at quarterback and Dashawn Lawrence probably a second guy.”

Now fresh off snapping rival Neah Bay’s 34-game win streak during the Class 1B State Playoff semifinals, Casimir will lead the Blackhawks’ offense into a state title matchup with Almira-Coulee-Hartline (12-1) at 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4, at the Tacoma Dome.

Casimir’s rise may have come as a surprise to some, but certainly not to himself.

He told Sandusky at the conclusion of Lummi’s 2014 season he desired to be the starting QB, and the senior did everything he could to deliver on that wish.

Casimir played baseball to keep his arm fresh, as Sandusky suggested, he took part in offseason camps and worked feverishly during the summer throwing passes to Raven and Free Borsey.

“It’s one thing to say it,” Sandusky said. “Anybody can say, ‘Hey, coach, I want to be a starter.’ A lot of guys say it. It can come out of your mouth but to back it up with work, that is the true determination of getting something done and successfully achieving it.”

Casimir’s determination stems from two factors. His grandma and grandpa died in 2010 and 2012, respectively, and he’s dreamed of playing at the next level.

“The drive came from when my grandma passed away,” Casimir said. “I fell in love with football, and I told her I would go to college and play. ... Once I got that first (college letter), it really pumped me up and got me more motivated.”

And now he’s put himself in the position to have a chance to play college ball.

Casimir’s season hasn’t always been as smooth as last week when he completed 9 of 17 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns and flawlessly navigated his offense up and down the field.

His maturation came slow at first, Sandusky said, but the longer he’s been leading the offense, the more he’s thrived.

“I was concerned he was waiting until receivers were already out of their breaks and then throwing instead of anticipating,” Sandusky said. “Those were things we had to fine-tune. Now he’s gotten on the page of being able to hit those spots and throw a catchable ball under pressure.”

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 6:19 PM with the headline "Casimir leading Lummi into title game."