As a junior, South Whidbey’s Deven Damerau wasn’t even starting at running back. Less than two years later, he is representing his school in the Earl Barden All-Star Classic in Yakima as one of the top football players in the state.
The game, which takes place at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Earl Barden Field in Yakima, features some of the best 2A, 1A, 2B and 1B football players in the state.
Damerau earned the starting running back job as a senior and responded by rushing for 1,330 yards and averaging 7.2 yards per carry. His stats helped earn him Co-Offensive Player of the Year honors in the Cascade Conference, which comes with an automatic spot in the annual All-Star game.
Chris Tormey, who was the head coach at South Whidbey last season, said Damerau’s preparation had a lot to do with his success.
“He had a great summer,” Tormey said. “He had himself ready to go and he stayed healthy. He just has a knack (for the position). He runs with the ability to get tacklers off balance and then he just tries to go ahead and run through tacklers. I think he had a fantastic year because of those attributes.”
Tormey brought an impressive resume to Langley. He was the head football coach at the University of Idaho from 1995-99 and the head coach at the University of Nevada from 2000-03. He also worked as an assistant coach at the University of Washington and the University of Wyoming.
His stay as the Falcons head coach was brief, he accepted a job as the linebackers coach with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League earlier this year.
Damerau admits the coaching change was tough on him and his teammates at first, but said they adjusted well.
“My senior year has been really good,” Damerau said. “It’s gone a lot better than I would have ever hoped. The coaching staff and that whole change-up was kind of a shock and it had a lot of us players doubting how we would do and the effects of it, but as a team we did really well, I think. Then being able to be named offensive player of the year was pretty exciting for me.”
It was clear Damerau was going to have a big year from the first game of the season against Coupeville. In a 35-28 loss, Damerau had 301 yards on 20 carries and scored two touchdowns. He also returned a kickoff for a touchdown.
“I hoped that I would have the best season that I could and after that first game against Coupeville I realized that I was actually going to be able to do something pretty good this year,” Damerau said. “It just went from there.”
Damerau was also a team captain and started at linebacker for the Falcons.
“He was very productive on the offensive side of the ball, but also he did a great job on defense from his linebacker spot,” Tormey said. “We were in some close games. Games that we had a chance to win and didn’t win, but he kept us in every game.”
The Falcons finished 2-8, but never stopped fighting in any of the losses — and Damerau was often leading the charge.
“He was sort of a leader by example kind of a player,” Tormey said. “He did everything you wanted him to do. He was coachable. He tried to everything that we taught him to the best of his ability. He wasn’t a vocal guy. He didn’t have a lot to say to his teammates, but he was a shining example of how to practice and how to be productive in games.”
Damerau said he will try and walk on to the football team at Central Washington University this fall and is excited for the challenge.
“I’m just looking forward to being a part of the team and seeing what I can do over there,” Damerau said.
Tormey said he thinks there is a good chance Damerau will be successful.
“He’s got want-to,” Tormey said. “He won’t be the fastest guy or the biggest guy on the team, but it’s really important to him. I think when he gets his opportunities, he’s going to take advantage of them and be productive. I’m predicting that he’s going to have very productive and good college career.”
Practicing with some of the best players in the state this week has opened Damerau’s eyes to the challenge of becoming a college football player.
“Over here, it’s the best of the best,” Damerau said. “Seeing how good everyone is, it’s putting me more in the mentality of college and how good the players are going to be.”
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