LUMMI — Winless Lummi Nation football was unable to keep up offensively with rival Concrete in a 42-16 loss during 1B Northwest League play Friday, Oct. 4 in Lummi.
“I see a lot of potential in our roster,” Lummi coach Watiko Leighton said. “We have 10 sophomores, five freshmen, five juniors and three seniors, so we are still young. We are making a slow progress.”
The Blackhawks’ leading rusher on the night was Michael Wilson, who carried the rock 11 times for 64 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Landon LaFontaine was 4-for-9 passing for 17 yards and an interception.
“You see a lot of ups and downs during the game but the downs affect us a lot,” Leighton said. “There is a lot of growth for us and I believe we can get there in the next few games or next year.”
Gallery: Lummi Nation football gets routed by Concrete
In the first quarter, Lummi had 32 total yards on offense and one first down. The Blackhawks began the second quarter with a turnover on downs at Concrete’s 35-yard line. Later, Lions’ Josiah Rider scored the first points of the game on a 68-yard touchdown run, but the two-point conversion was no good.
Concrete quarterback Jakob Lofton later threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Rider and the Lions converted their two-point conversion to make it 14-0 within the first minute of the second quarter. Rider finished with 282 total yards and three touchdowns on offense and a 99-yard pick-six on defense. The pick-six made it 20-0 with a few minutes left in the first half.
The Blackhawks moved the ball well between the 20-yard lines and got into the red zone four times but only capitalized twice.
“It’s impressive because last year we were scoreless with my freshmen,” Leighton said. “Seeing them be sophomores and score is awesome. All I ask is for 4 yards every play, and for the most part, they get it.”
Wilson scored Lummi’s first touchdown with a 7-yard carry with 40 seconds remaining in the half. Lofton responded 20 seconds later with a 54-yard rushing touchdown to make put Concrete up 28-8 at halftime.
In the second half, Rider scored on a 25-yard run on the opening drive. Wilson responded with another 7-yard touchdown carry and a two-point conversion to make it 36-16. Concrete finished the third quarter with a three-play drive, capped off by a 25-yard rushing touchdown by Lofton.
Neither team scored in the fourth quarter when the reserves began to play. Lummi Nation (0-4) will host Muckleshoot Tribal for its homecoming game at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11. Concrete (2-3) will play at Charles Wright at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12.
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
