A Season for David: Mount Si Freshmen Finish Undefeated While Honoring a Beloved Coach

This season, the Mount Si freshman football team played for more than wins. They played in honor of David Heyting, a Snoqualmie Valley native and longtime youth football coach who died in May after a 14-year battle with brain cancer.

Heyting coached many of the players during their junior football years, helping shape not only their skills on the field, but their confidence, character, and love of the game. He never had the chance to see them take the field as high school athletes.

That legacy followed them anyway. This year’s freshman head coach was Brian Tawney, Heyting’s brother-in-law, a Mount Si leadership teacher and longtime community mentor. What unfolded became a season defined by purpose, family, and connection.

The team finished undefeated, but the measure of the season was never the scoreboard. From helmet stickers and wrist tape marked “DH” to moments of reflection that carried through every practice and game, the players chose to honor the coach who had once guided them, carrying his influence forward together.

For Brian Tawney, coaching the Mount Si freshman team carried a weight that went far beyond a typical season. These were the last players David Heyting had coached during their junior football years, a fact that stayed close for Tawney as he stepped into the role. Before David became sick, the two had even talked about coaching freshmen together one day. In that sense, Tawney said the season felt like a continuation of David’s work and his legacy in the Valley, with the same group of kids David had believed in now taking the field at the high school level.

From the start, Tawney made it clear that football was a vehicle, not the destination. His focus was on teaching life skills the players could carry with them long after the season ended. “We often talk about using football as a vehicle to build great young men of character,” he said. Practices and games became opportunities to learn how to handle discomfort, accountability, and pressure. Tawney noted that the moments when the team struggled were often the most valuable, because that was where the most growth happened, both individually and as a group.

David’s influence on Tawney’s approach was constant, shaped by years of conversations about coaching philosophy and leadership. Tawney recalled watching former players seek David out at games, checking in on him and showing genuine care, something he saw as a reflection of the kind of coach David had been. “After seeing him with the kids and those talks I knew that a lot of our coaching points matched up,” Tawney said. That alignment gave him confidence, and it reinforced his belief in leaning into difficult conversations and leading with intention and purpose throughout the season.

Throughout the season, the players found their own ways to honor David. Many wrote “DH” on their arms or wrist tape before games, while others added helmet stickers made in his memory. Coach Tawney said the tribute was introduced briefly at the beginning of the year, and participation was optional. Some players chose additional personal markings on their pads, but the focus was never forced. The intention, Tawney explained, was to help the team learn how to play for others, without allowing the season to become centered solely on loss.

That purpose showed up week after week. Tawney described seeing players hold each other accountable, encourage one another, and care deeply about their teammates throughout the season. One mother described the connection simply, saying, “David had his hands on these boys every single game.” For the players, honoring their former coach became a quiet constant, woven into practices, games, and the way they showed up as teammates, carrying his influence forward together as the season unfolded.

Jason Wilmot, who coached Junior Wildcat Football alongside David Heyting for four years and coached alongside Brian Tawney this year, said the connection between those early teams and this season was impossible to miss. The team went undefeated their 8th grade year. “Our 8th grade championship was played in brutal conditions-sideways rain and wind. David came in a wheelchair that night to support the kids he coached for years. It would have been so easy for him to stay home. But he was there because those boys mattered more to him than his own comfort. This year, when 40 of those same kids went undefeated as freshmen, we saw David in every play. As an offensive line coach, David taught them that football is won in the trenches with teamwork, sacrifice and effort. David taught them that life is always won with teamwork, sacrifice and effort!”

David’s sister Keri said her brother was giving and selfless, someone who constantly showed up for the people and the community he loved. A three-sport athlete in high school, David remained deeply involved in youth sports long after his own playing days, coaching flag football and junior football, serving as a baseball umpire, and managing a Little League umpire program. As his own children grew older, he continued coaching with Wildcat Junior Football alongside his oldest son, Colby. “I think kids responded so well to David because he was steady and approachable,” she said. “He led with a calm, focused presence, and he was the kind of person you never wanted to let down because your respect for him ran so deep.”

David’s son, Colby Heyting, a Mount Si grad now at Montana State who helped him coach Junior Wildcat football, said his father’s connection with young athletes came from the way he showed up for them. “I believe the connection he had with the youth was so impactful simply because he proved what love does. He was there for every kid and knew what it took to make every kid feel loved and seen. He did more than just talk, he proved it by the way he lived his life and loved on kids so well. He was the first guy to shout out the kid that was struggling or having a bad day. He made every kid feel important and that’s why he has such a big impact on the youth.”

Colby also described what it meant to see the team honor his dad throughout the season. “It was such a blessing seeing the boys he coached honor him through their season. Seeing the impact he left on that team that they would do that for him was so awesome. They are such an incredible group of boys who made the whole community feel their love for him”

Watching the Mount Si freshman team choose to honor David throughout the season carried deep meaning for the family. His sister said one of the hardest parts of losing someone is the fear that their memory will fade, a fear eased by seeing the boys intentionally carry him with them.

She recalled bringing David to watch the team play when he was deep into his cancer battle and losing mobility and being struck by how the players checked in on him with kindness and maturity. “Having the Mount Si Freshman team honor David this season meant the world,” she said. “The boys truly wanted to honor David’s memory and embraced a larger purpose for the season, one rooted in heart, not just athletic ability.”

The Mount Si freshman football team finished the season undefeated. As the final whistle sounded, the moment carried significance beyond the record. It was the season David Heyting never had the chance to see, but one that reflected the values he had passed on to the players long before they reached the high school field.

After the final game, Coach Brian Tawney gathered the team and spoke to them about what the season had meant. He told the boys how every practice, every game, and every moment of grit had been played in honor of David. He spoke about their heart, their resilience, and the way they showed up for one another throughout the season. As he spoke, Tawney was visibly overwhelmed.

He then looked into the stands for his wife, David’s sister, and for Sue Heyting, David’s mother. Tawney walked to them and wrapped them in an embrace. The tears that followed reflected both the weight of loss and the pride felt by a family and a community at the close of a season shaped by connection, care, and purpose.