It was a brisk night as many students and family members began to gather on the damp bleachers with flowers and blankets in hand. Some camped out on the sidelines under canopies while others watched from their vehicles.
The Lapwai High School Wildcats don’t have the typical athletic build you would expect from a competitive football team. Their tallest player stands at 6 feet with most of the players height ranging between 5-foot-9 and 5-foot-10.
Still, the Wildcats remained competitive over the years with playoff appearances in the last couple of seasons, including a dominating 48 to 26 victory on homecoming night this season. But this wasn’t about proving that they were a good football team. It was about bringing prominence back to football in Lapwai, a town that is now known for its elite boys’ and girls’ high school basketball programs.
Lapwai senior RB/MLB Ahlius Yearout walks during homecoming announcement ceremony.
“For a few years when I was in high school, football was the dominant sport with baseball and basketball was secondary,” said Jon Leighton Jr., Lapwai football head coach. “These years basketball has become more prevalent.”
The Lapwai boys’ basketball team is known for its winning pedigree claiming consecutive state championships in 2021 and 2022. The team has the second-most state championships in Idaho with 12. Similar to the boys, the girls’ basketball team also has a winning history with a total of 11 state championships, more than any school in the state.
“In terms of football, we are trying to bring it back to our community as a sport that’s more prevalent,” he said. “So you gotta make the playoffs, win trophies, and we’ve done pretty well in the last eight years or so.”
For the team, there’s a chip on their shoulder and a relentless hunger to give their program the respect it deserves.
“I think all of us that are on the football team are a little irritated that we’re still considered a basketball school,” said sophomore Joseph Whitefoot, Lapwai kick returner and wide receiver. “I know basketball has won a lot, but the football team has been good for many years.”
The Wildcats posted an 8-3 record with a playoff appearance before getting eliminated by Raft River High School in 2021. Followed by a 5-4 record and another playoff appearance in 2022, but were knocked out in the first round against Butte County High School.
This season, the Wildcats were competitive but struggled to win consistently and finished 4-4, ultimately missing the playoffs.
Though the football team continues to be overshadowed by the basketball programs, Whitefoot said it motivates the team to play hard every game, hoping to eventually gain recognition.
While basketball is the more popular sport, there is still a deep sense of unity and support shown for Lapwai football. It is shown in the way random people honk their horns when driving by the football field on game day. That is the passion and pride the town holds for football.
“The crowd really gets fired up and you become kind of a small family with the different football parents and boys,” Danielle Whitefoot, Joseph’s mom, said. “Unfortunately it’s more basketball than football, but they still show out for football.”
Whitefoot said watching her two sons Joseph and Leland play allowed her to see them grow into men playing the sport they love.
On game day, Whitefoot goes all in for her son’s team and is often shouting in excitement whenever her boys make a play. When not on the bleachers, she is streaming up and down the sidelines to get the best view of her boys on the field.
“It’s been really fun playing here, especially playing in front of the crowd because they’re always really energetic,” Whitefoot said.
The football team does not have a winning history like the women’s and boy’s basketball programs yet, but things could change with their increased competitive play these past two seasons. The future looks bright for the football culture in Lapwai and it’s only a matter of time before they figure it out.
“We may not have the biggest kids but the biggest thing about our culture is that we play hard-nosed football and the kids play hard,” Leighton Jr. said.
