LA CONNER — There’s some good news for the La Conner football team — Darrington no longer looks like the team to beat in the Northwest 2B League.

The bad news is other teams will be tough this season.

“Concrete and Orcas will be tough,” La Conner coach Patrick Brown said of the league. “Concrete has got a lot of speed. They’ve got a lot of guys who have started for two years. Orcas will be right there. Orcas is big and physical. They’re going to spread you out over the field.”

The Braves have just seven seniors on this season’s team, but Brown said he’s optimistic about the season.

“We have great attitude, great senior leadership,” he said. “Leadership at all levels has been really good. The juniors and seniors have stepped up. More than anything, it has been a great change of attitude since last year.”

The Braves went 2-4 in league and 3-6 overall in 2007.

To improve on that, La Conner will likely rely on its defense.

“I really like our defense,” Brown said. “I think we’re going to be tough. We’ve got some pretty athletic linebackers that can run and some big bodies up front to do the job.”

That linebacker group includes 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior Matt Burlingame, Tommy Peth (jr., 6-2, 225) and Max Alotrico (jr., 5-11, 165).

Burlingame, a returning starter, thinks despite a relatively young team, the Braves will be competitive in league.

“We’ve got a shot at being really solid,” he said.

Another key player on the defense will be Nathan Lease.

Lease (sr., 5-11, 205) played in the secondary last season, but will play defensive end this year.

On offense, the Braves will break in a new quarterback. Erik Lindeman (jr., 5-9, 150) has emerged as the likely starter.

Lindeman will replace Kenny Ketcham and Jason Lindeman, who split time last season.

Ketcham passed for 342 yards and two touchdowns, while Jason Lindeman passed for 117 yards and one touchdown. Jason Lindeman also rushed for 326 yards on 67 carries.

Burlingame is confident Erik Lindeman can move into the position and have success.

“He’s come a long way. He’s pretty mobile, pretty confident,” he said.

Brown agrees.

“Erik Lindeman is pretty accurate,” he said. “He’s not the biggest arm in the world. We can mix it up. We’re not the kind of team that’s going to pound it down your throat.”

Lease and Burlingame will be with Lindeman in the backfield. Lease, who played guard last year, will start at fullback.

“We’ve got some guys that run hard,” Brown said. “Nathan Lease is a really hard runner. He played guard last year, but he was a fullback in the past and we’re moving him back.”

Burlingame will also run the ball. He has experience, Brown said.

“Matt Burlingame has got a lot of experience, both at wing back and as a receiver,” Brown said. “He’ll get some catches for us and he runs really tough, too.”

Lease said the team’s offensive line, which includes Peth and Tanner Wilson (jr., 5-11, 210) will also be an important part of the team’s success.

“We’ve got a big line this year,” Lease said.

Last year, Taylor Thostenson led the Braves’ rushing attack with 473 yards. But this season Brown said several players will get touches.

“We’re going to mix it around,” he said. “In years past, we’ve had that one workhorse guy. It’s just not the kids we have had come through, but we’ve got some talented athletes. We’ll use a lot of misdirection and try to move some things around.”

Though playoff allocations won’t been announced until October, according to the WIAA Web site, La Conner will probably need to finish in the top two in the league to secure a berth.

Ben Davis can be reached at 360-416-2139 or by e-mail at