Written by: Will Hoenike
One way to look at the 2023 Lapwai football season is this: it was a season of extremes. Only one game was decided by fewer than 22 points. The team scored 75 points in a Senior-Day victory and was held to just eight points in a week-two loss. The team’s defense held two opponents under 20 points but surrendered more than 50 on four separate occasions.
The end result was a break-even season, four wins and four losses, and no playoff appearance after back-to-back berths, including an appearance in the 2021 1A Division 1 (now 2A) state semifinals.
There is reason for optimism in Lapwai in 2024, though. The team graduated just six seniors off of last year’s team, returns some dynamic playmakers and, as usual, there is no shortage of gifted athletes in the Wildcat family.
Young, dynamic quarterback Jereese McCormack returns for his sophomore season after gaining a lot of valuable experience taking snaps as a freshman. You could almost call him a seasoned vet even though he’s got three years left. At the end of each season, the league’s coaches get together and select players for first-team, second-team, and honorable-mention league honors. In all, the Whitepine coaches honored over 50 players in 2023 and just two of them selected were freshmen – McCormack (honorable mention quarterback) and Genesee’s Colton Seubert (second team defensive back).
So a critical position is in good hands for the foreseeable future. He’s got talented and explosive playmakers around him in Joseph Whitefoot, Julian Barrows, and Vincent Kipp. Whitefoot and Kipp are juniors while Barrows is a senior. It’s reasonable to expect the Wildcats will make a lot of big plays this fall.
One area where veteran head coach Josh Leighton, Jr., and his staff will need to plug some holes is along the offensive and defensive lines. Starters Leland Whitefoot and Layson Morrell have both graduated, opening up two spots for new players.
Consistency and good health are both important for Lapwai this season in the tough 2A Whitepine League. The league welcomes in 1A (formerly 1A Division 2) powerhouse Kendrick this year and one of the state’s top 8-man programs, Prairie, welcomes back uber-successful head coach Ryan Hasselstrom to the sidelines. Lapwai will travel to face both of those opponents, Prairie on September 13 and Kendrick on September 27, but the Wildcats have homefield advantage for other key matchups, like Potlatch on Septemeber 20 and Kamiah on October 25. The season-ender against the Kubs could have significant playoff implications for Lapwai, Kamiah, and beyond.