Lummi Nation illumination
Blackhawks make history in beating Clallam Bay 52-30 in first-ever home game played under the lights.

Blackhawk quarterback Dustin Tom rolls out under the glow of portable lights installed for Lummi's homecoming game against Clallam Bay.

The Lummi Blackhawks were feeling it Friday night. Senior wide receiver Ray Jefferson said, "You feel like big shots." Senior lineman Nelson Montenegro said he felt "like I'm in the movies." Senior running back Tony Washington said, "It's a different environment, a different feeling. It's like you're on Mars."

For once, the Blackhawks didn't have to travel to another team's field, let alone to Mars, to play under the lights. For the first time in school history, the lights came to them. Lummi school officials had promised the football players during the offseason they'd be playing at home under the lights this year. Permanent lights were expected to be installed and shining down on the Blackhawks when they played Neah Bay on Sept. 27. A holdup in contract negotiations made it an impossibility for this year, and so the school decided to improvise. Fourteen portable light poles, powered by chugging generators, were rented and set up around the field for Friday night's homecoming game against Clallam Bay.

"It's holding true to our word they would have a Friday night game this year," principal Heather Leighton said. "Playing under the lights is a whole different feeling. We felt it was important for our seniors to experience that. They work hard. They deserve it. They're good kids."

Each pole cost $89 to rent, bringing the total to about $1,300. "I think it was worth it," Leighton said. "I'm a football fanatic, though, so I don't care what it costs. I probably wanted it as much as the players."

The lights, normally used at construction sites, were much lower than those installed at stadiums, and as a result it was a bit tougher for receivers to judge the ball — thus Washington's comment about playing on Mars. Nonetheless, Dustin Tom managed to throw seven touchdown passes, including one to Montenegro, the first scoring reception of his career. "It's huge," Montenegro said of playing under the lights, "because we've been wanting it for a long time."

Blackhawk players, from left, Ty Jameson, Joe Brady and Lonnie James were part of a group that performed a drumming song before Friday's homecoming game.

This Saturday's Lummi-Neah Bay game matches two teams undefeated in the North Division of the Pacific Coast League. The game begins at 4 p.m. at Neah Bay and likely will determine first and second place in the division. The Blackhawks beat the Red Devils 60-36 at home in a nonleague game during the fourth week of the season. The teams that finish first and second in the North Division will face the third and fourth place teams from the South Division in the first weekend of the playoffs, Nov. 14-15.