Before every football game, Bakari Davis settles his mind down and amps his body up with the same routine. He listens to music, focuses on the game plan and prays. Then his gaze lifts out to the stands where his father would have been sitting.

“I do everything for him,” Davis said. “He’s the one who taught me how to play and got me into sports.”

Davis’ father, Paul, passed away two years ago in the middle of Lindbergh’s football season from a heart attack. Davis, who wasn’t playing much on Friday nights but was helping with the scout team offense, took time off from the team to focus on his family and schoolwork.

“It was hard,” Davis said. “I credit my two older sisters. They got me back going and push me to be great at whatever I do.”

Davis had to learn to balance being the man of the house, schoolwork and playing in three sports at Lindbergh. It’s safe to say he’s made it work.

The senior plays basketball, football and baseball. He’s currently averaging 3.3 points per game off the bench for the Eagles, who are in fifth place in the Seamount and fighting for playoff positioning.

While he plays a lot of sports, it’s on the football field where Davis really stands out.

Running out of Lindbergh’s spread offense can be a double-edged sword. Tasked with guarding more receivers, defenders are farther away from the center of the field and oftentimes looking to defend against the pass first. The downside is in blocking, where the running back usually doesn’t have a fullback or tight end paving the way.

Whether running in a spread offense is more difficult or less difficult, Davis clearly found a way to make it effective this season. Davis gained 9.3 yards per rush and scored 31 touchdowns.

“It was my senior year, so I felt like I really had to step up and lead my team,” Davis said.

He absolutely dominated certain games, scoring three or more touchdowns in four games.

“It feels really good to have a game like that,” Davis said. “But I have to give it all to my linemen for making it happen up front.”

The Eagles, meanwhile, outscored opponents 380-174 overall on the way to a 7-3 record and a trip to the 2A state tournament.

Lindbergh’s season ended in the first round of the 2A state tournament last season with a 28-14 loss to Anacortes. The talented Eagles expected more from the season, which gives a glimpse of how far the program has come.

“As I watched the clock hit go down and hit all zeroes, I couldn’t believe my senior year was over,” Davis said. “It kind of hit me all at once and it was a struggle at first.”

In Davis’ junior season, Lindbergh went undefeated in league play and won a Seamount title. The Eagles made it all the way to the 3A state quarterfinals, before losing to the eventual state runner-up, Liberty, 20-17 in triple overtime.

Lindbergh lost to Bellevue 35-6 in the first round of the state tournament in Davis’ sophomore season, 2008.

“It had been a long time since Lindbergh had won a league title,” Davis said. “It felt good to be a part of that, bringing Lindbergh football back to where it should be.”

Davis, 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, is still narrowing his choices of colleges to play for next season.

“I plan on going to the school that fits me best, the one where I can succeed,” Davis said. “I’ve been playing running back since junior football and I just want to keep playing.”

The stretch from 2008 to 2010 encompassed three of the four state football appearances in Lindbergh history. It’s clear that Davis was a big piece of a special group of Lindbergh players who pushed the program to the next level.

It’s also clear that his father would be proud of what Davis is accomplishing on the field, and off.

“He would be really happy with what I’m doing,” he said. “Knowing that, I can be really happy.”