For coach Steve Sarkisian and countless Husky fans, Saturday night is the start of a new era of Washington football.But for senior linebacker Donald Butler and countless Husky seniors, Saturday night is the start of one last chance: a chance to win their first game since 2007, a chance to improve on a 5-7 record in 2006 — the best of these seniors’ careers — and a chance to take Washington to its first bowl game since 2002.”Obviously, we want to put last season behind us,” Butler said. “We want this year to be something to remember.”Butler joined the Huskies in 2006 after an All-Northern California career at Del Campo High School in Fair Oaks, Calif.”He was Superman,” said Del Campo coach Mike Dimino. “It was not unusual to see him line up at fullback, halfback, tight end and wide receiver. He could also play strong safety and linebacker. He was just a special athlete.”But Butler isn’t the only Del Campo product involved in Saturday’s slugfest. LSU sophomore defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, two years behind Butler at Del Campo, transferred to Baton Rouge this summer after a year at Sacramento City Junior College. “He went his separate way, and I went mine. But it’s going to be nice to come back and play with him again,” Hicks said. “He was a great player. He’s still a great player.”Hicks went against Butler often in high school practices as an All-Conference defensive tackle for the Cougars, though the pair won’t have the same chance this weekend.”We used to hit him all the time, but he was the biggest running back I ever saw,” Hicks said. “When I was in junior college, I used to see guys from my high school probably every other game, but I can’t wait to see him again.”Saturday’s game will be Butler’s 31st appearance for Washington. Conversely, it will be his head coach’s first. Sarkisian arrived in Seattle last winter as a first-time head coach, a fact Butler said the seniors are used to by now.”It’s actually been a good transition,” he said. “When he came in he sat down with us and wanted to make sure that the seniors were on the same page with coach Sark, in terms of what’s expected out of us and what’s expected from the coaches.”As a team captain, expectations will rest heavily on Butler and fellow linebackers E.J. Savannah and Mason Foster to help improve a rushing defense that finished 2008 as No. 117 of 119 teams. “Donald is one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached. In fact, I’ve never coached a smarter one,” Dimino said. “He wouldn’t be able to play all those positions if he didn’t pick up things like a computer.”There’s little margin for error for Butler and the Huskies, even after the Tigers leave town. Washington hosts USC and travels to play Notre Dame, both within the first month of the season. “I kind of like it,” Butler said. “You have to go in and be on top of your game right away, which is something that, in training camp, you work toward — that first game.”For Dimino, the thrill is knowing his players have moved to the next level. The Del Campo coach reeled off a sizeable list of graduates playing college football — Boston College junior quarterback Codi Boek and Weber State junior tight end Kevin Halfhill, to name a couple — in addition to Butler and Hicks.”For them to fulfill a dream — because it is a dream — makes me feel great because if they continue and don’t get hurt, both Donald and Akiem could play on TV in the NFL,” Dimino said. “I think myself and other coaches helped Akiem believe in that dream, but Donald has always believed.”For now, Butler is focused on this season, starting Saturday — his last chance.”Everyone wants to look back and be able to say, ‘This is what I did there,'” he said. “I came in with high expectations that weren’t produced on the field. So this is my last year, and I want to get to a bowl game … I’m a senior. I’m a captain on the team, so I’m excited and ready to go.”- – – -Contact David Helman at [email protected]