Who knew?

They did. Now, so do we.

For junior linebackers Jimmy Ramey and Caleb Jones, Sandwich’s suspended varsity season in 2022 due to low numbers can be placed in a time capsule. It’s history.

The duo headlines a defense for a surprising team that is still playing three weeks into the current postseason.

A lost year gave way to a special one for the team’s leading tacklers.

“It means a lot to me that we were able to overcome last year as a team and have everyone stick with it,” Jones said. “And now, here we are.”

Here is the Class 4A quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Friday against host Wheaton Academy (10-1). It follows a 49-34 win over Ridgewood and 54-6 rout of Dyett that put Sandwich (8-3) in the Elite Eight.

Sixteen juniors and three sophomores play key roles on the 27-player roster after Sandwich competed last season at the freshman-sophomore level and posted an 8-1 record.

“We knew the potential we had building up,” Ramey said. “We knew we deserved it.”

The 6-foot, 180-pound Ramey certainly did. He plays the middle in the team’s five linebacker setup.

Multiple injuries this season have cost him nearly three games, but Ramey still managed to lead the team in tackles with 70 through the nine-game regular season and is currently at 90.

The 6-1, 185-pound Jones plays an outside spot and has 59 tackles, with three interceptions returned for touchdowns. He also blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for a fourth TD.

“They’re animals on the football field,” Sandwich coach Kris Cassie said of the duo. “Our defense has significantly improved this season.”

Ramey moved from Yorkville in eighth grade and was taking time off from the sport after several concussions in youth football. He returned as a freshman, then suffered a concussion this season on the opening kickoff.

Upon his return, he suffered a torn rotator cuff and deals with a chronic hip injury.

“I’ve learned I need to come out with the aggression, but I need to hold myself under control,” Ramey said. “I had a tendency to lead with my head.”

His hip contributes, Ramey confirmed.

“I have a bone friction in my hip flexors that I was born with,” he said. “I’ve dealt with it for two seasons.”

He’s hoping physical therapy for the shoulder and possible surgery on his hip will allow him to return at 100% senior year and “make a statement.”

Sandwich defensive coordinator Bobby Procopos hopes so, too.

“Jimmy is a special kid with great instincts,” Procopos said. “He flies around and has a nose for the football. He’s a high-motor kid. It clicks for him.

“He’s been banged up, but it’s even more of a testament to how talented he is.”

Jones’ success in producing turnovers doesn’t happen by accident.

“Caleb takes his job very seriously and wants to make sure he’s in the right spot and doing the right thing,” Procopos said. “He’s one of the leaders of that defense. His intensity drives a lot of it.”

And with just one senior starter, the future looks bright.

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An upgraded weight room also has paid dividends, according to Procopos.

“They’re invested,” he said of the program’s players. “It changed the dynamic, changed the mindset.”

In the offseason, the coaching staff saw good things on the horizon.

“We were more confident than I think most people gave us credit for after seeing how hard these kids worked for the past year,” Procopos said. “Frosh-soph success is a different animal than varsity, but we were confident we were gonna make a little noise based on what we saw.”

Sandwich’s players are enjoying the ride.

“It’s so special,” Ramey said. “The fact we haven’t done this since I was a little kid in grade school, I didn’t even know Sandwich was a town the last time they did this.

“To be a part of it is absolutely incredible.”