The Lynden football team has a treat in store this season for winning last year’s Class 2A state championship: playing most of its entire 2022 season on the road.
Of the Lions’ nine regular-season games, only three will be played at Rollie DeKoster Field in Lynden.
To top it off, Lynden will also spend the first three weeks of the season away from home.
Extensive traveling this season has already put a bit of a chip on the players’ shoulders — not that they needed one with the built-in target on their backs this year as the defending state champions.
Sixth-year head coach Blake VanDalen said he feels bad for the team but believes limited home games are also a motivator.
“It’s been fun to tell the kids they can earn three more,” VanDalen said, alluding to the playoffs.
Should Lynden earn more home games, they would likely not be played in Lynden, but rather at Civic Stadium, which VanDalen said has become a home away from home for the team.
Senior Kaedan Hermanutz, the Lions’ returning starter at quarterback, isn’t too worried about the games’ locations.
“We’ll play anybody, anytime, anywhere,” Hermanutz said. “Football is football. It’s nice to have our home crowd, but I know our fanbase and community will travel anywhere. During the playoffs, we never get to play at home anyway, so we might as well get ready for that.”
Hermanutz is one of many starters on offense back this year. Joining him are running backs Lane Heeringa and Campbell Nolte, wide receiver Isaiah Stanley and the entire offensive line. VanDalen said they’re fortunate to be getting that many players back, especially on the offensive line.
The Lynden Lions hold up the Class 2A state championship trophy following their 21-7 victory over Tumwater on Dec. 4, 2021. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)
They might not be as flashy as the players on the roster, but VanDalen’s entire assistant coaching staff from last year is also back — an underrated part of the operation.
“It’s a gift to have all your coaches back who are consistent and hardworking,” VanDalen said. “We’re living the dream, for sure.”
Hermanutz, who will be commanding the offense again, is aware of how lucky the team is, but also how lucky he is personally, to have the same five guys up front blocking for him again.
“They’re so experienced and know all the plays already,” Hermanutz said of the offensive line. “We don’t have to teach too many guys new stuff since a lot of those spots are already filled or we had people rotating last year even if they weren’t starting.”
And even though they’re returning as state champions, they all feel this year’s seniors have plenty still to prove.
“I’m excited for these kids to get their opportunity. They had a really good group of seniors they were able to watch and learn from,” VanDalen said. “This group of kids did an outstanding job being supporters to our seniors and now they get the opportunity to be legacy builders for the grades below them. They can show 90 other players this is how Lynden takes care of business.”
Taking care of business this year starts with what VanDalen and Hermanutz both called a strong offseason.
The Lions have 120 kids out for football this year and averaged around 70 in the weight room over the summer.
After a strong team camp at Eastern Washington University, VanDalen said he never sensed any relaxation from the team coming off the highs of last season.
Not wanting there to be any kind of hangover in the team’s preparation, he said they’ve been talking to them a lot about what they want their legacy to be and how they want to be remembered.
Lynden quarterback Brant Heppner throws a pass during a football jamboree at Lynden High School on Aug. 26. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)
“Are they just satisfied with last year and whatnot? We talk about trying to keep that hunger,” VanDalen said. “‘If we would’ve lost to Tumwater, how would you have felt right now?’ That’s kind of what we’ve been telling these guys because that’s how Tumwater feels, that’s how North Kitsap feels, that’s how Prosser and all those other teams we beat feel.”
Coming off the state title, Hermanutz said they want to keep that same intensity that got them so far last year.
“We already got to the top spot and we want to stay there,” Hermanutz said. “We just have to keep up what we were doing last year.”
Lynden won’t have much, if any, time to reach that level and ease into its season. The Lions open their 2022 campaign against rival Ferndale, the only team they lost to last year.
In week two they’ll travel to W.F. West, a state playoff team from last season, and week three they face Squalicum, a state semifinalist a year ago.
“I love the way VanDalen schedules that because that sets us up for the rest of the season,” Hermanutz said. “Being able to play tough teams at the beginning and travel on the road honestly helps us.”
The team goal is obvious: Win the state title again.
As for Hermanutz’s personal goals his senior year, he’s hoping to be a leader on the team and make everyone around him better.
“I’m really looking forward to playing with the guys again. I miss some of the seniors already, but we have a great team and all of these guys are my friends that I’ve been growing up with,” Hermanutz said. “It’s super exciting to be back out there and hopefully run the show again and set my team up for success.”
With more than two decades of coaching under his belt, VanDalen was candid about the team’s success last year and how they would be able to repeat that this year.
“We know we were extremely lucky. We were very good, but things had to go our way, and just as easily things can not go your way,” he said.
Keep the calendars marked for Sept. 23, Oct. 7 and Oct. 21 as those three dates are the only times the Lions will be playing in Lynden this season. Unless, of course, they make it to their home away from home at Civic Stadium for another postseason run.
