Prexies beat back C-H early surge on way to win
Washington’s Isaiah Robinson blocks the extra-point attempt by Chartiers-Houston’s T. J. Johnston as the Bucs took a 6-0 lead over the Prexies Friday night.
Chartiers-Houston’s A. J. Myers catches a first-quarter touchdown pass from T. J. Johnston Friday night against Washington.
Washington defenders Malik Mitchell and Ian Smith attempt to tackle Chartiers-Houston fullback Matt Whitfield Friday night.
Chartiers-Houston wide receiver Jordan Davis looks for room to run after catching a pass from J. T. Johnston Friday night against Washington.
Washington quarterback Conner Bedillion looks to pass as Chartiers-Houston linebacker Matt Whitfield rushes Friday night.
HOUSTON – An ace of a defense and wild-card of an offense proved to be a winning hand for the Washington High School football team in its Century Conference showdown with Chartiers-Houston.
Washington’s defense intercepted three passes and held Chartiers-Houston scoreless over the final three quarters as the Prexies overcame a halftime deficit for the second consecutive week and defeated the Bucs, 28-6, Friday night.
The win keeps Washington (5-0, 7-0) undefeated and moves the Prexies into first place in the conference. It was the 27th consecutive regular-season victory for Washington.
Last week, the Prexies trailed Bentworth at intermission but dominated the second half by keeping it simple on offense and letting the ground game overpower the Bearcats with straight-ahead running.
This time, after falling behind 6-0 at halftime, it took Wash High more sweat and savvy to mount a comeback against Chartiers-Houston (5-1, 6-2), which could have clinched the top playoff spot from the conference with a victory.
After an interception by linebacker Jackson Interval on the first offensive play of the second half, Washington switched its offense and took control of the game. The Prexies gambled by going to a single-wing style attack, taking quarterback Connor Bedillion out of the game, and relying on deception and misdirection with four running backs in the backfield.
It was a look the Prexies used with much success last season but had not removed from storage this year.
“We got together as a coaching staff and at halftime and decided it was time to try it,” Wash High coach Mike Bosnic said. “We thought we could be successful with it.”
They were right. Wash High’s running game was bogged down in the first half by C-H’s defensive front led by tackle Trey Lober, who spent much of the first 24 minutes in the Prexies’ backfield. Wash High had 27 rushing yards at halftime. In the second half, the Prexies ran for 214 yards.
“That’s the first time we saw them run that offense,” C-H coach Terry Fetsko said. “The first series or two in the second half they popped a couple of runs through the line of scrimmage and made big plays with it.”
Interval’s interception and 30-yard return to the C-H 15-yard line set up a direct snap from center to Zack Swart, who scored from six yards to give Wash High a 7-6 lead only 56 seconds into the second half.
Two Washington possessions later, Zyan Wallace took a direct snap and went 39 yards around right end to make it 14-6.
The Bucs had a chance to tie on the next possession, but Wash High cornerback Isaiah Perry outjumped C-H receiver A.J. Myers for an interception at the Prexies’ five-yard line. Wash High then went 95 yards in seven plays as Ronnie Paith passed 16 yards to Isaiah Robinson on a post pattern for a 16-yard score.
Paith closed the scoring with a seven-yard run with 1:02 remaining.
“That’s our single wing,” Paith said. “We practice that offense but we’ve been keeping it up our sleeve, saving it. That’s the first time we used it all year. It’s tough to defend because of the way we hide the ball and all the misdirection. When we did that, (Chartiers-Houston) couldn’t overload one side of its defense.”
Chartiers-Houston led 6-0 at halftime and could have been up by two or three scores. The Bucs enjoyed great field position in the first half but cashed in only on their first drive, when they went 76 yards in 10 plays. Quarterback T.J. Johnston threw a perfect 35-yard TD pass to Myers down the right sideline. Myers caught five passes on the opening drive and eight in the game.
The Bucs started their next three drives in Washington territory at the 44, 30 and 46 but couldn’t score. They reached the Prexies’ 3 on one drive but outside linebacker Isaiah Schoonmaker picked off a Johnston pass in the end zone to end one threat. The Bucs turned the ball over on downs at the Washington two on the next-to-last play of the first half.
“We had opportunities to go up 14-0 or even 21-0,” Fetsko said. “It’s a credit to Washington’s kids. They made a couple of plays. We needed to come up with points on those opportunities.”
Johnston completed 15 of 29 passes for 198 yards. He had only four completions in the second half when the Prexies were able to generate a pass rush. Bosnic credited Ross Goldstone with collapsing the pocket and putting Johnston under duress in the second half.
Chartiers-Houston was held to five rushing yards.
“We didn’t quit,” Fetsko said. “We gave great effort the entire game. … That defense is very difficult to run on so we game-planned to pass it more.”