Nov 29, 2017 3 min read

Washington High School won a seventh WPIAL football championship Saturday night. Prexies Nation, as a result, is in seventh heaven.

Wash High did it with style, hammering Steel Valley, 37-10, in the Class AA final at Robert Morris University’s Joe Walton Stadium. The Prexies not only vanquished the defending WPIAL and PIAA champion, ending its 26-game winning streak, they did it with an overpowering clutch performance, outscoring the Ironmen, 27-0, in the second half following a 10-10 tie.

This was not a surprise despite Steel Valley’s continued prowess. Wash High has been an all-around juggernaut, amassing a 13-0 record by averaging 41.5 points per game and allowing a mere 7.9. The Prexies led WPIAL Class AA in scoring and scoring defense.

Playing in Moon Township, their defense was out of this world Saturday. On two first-half possessions, Steel Valley had first-and-goal deep in Washington territory – once at the 6, once at the 1 – and came away with a total of three points. That was pivotal, for the Ironmen could have taken control. Instead, the team wearing Columbia blue and black surged following the break.

Victory was a soothing balm for head coach Mike Bosnic, his players and staff, and their followers, following what were perceived as early playoff flameouts the previous three seasons. Each of those Prexies teams was undefeated at the time. The program had developed a reputation for being strong – on the verge of elite, but not quite there.

That is no longer the case. Washington is a WPIAL champion for the first time since 2001, and the first Washington County team to secure a title since that Prexies squad 16 years ago. It is a satisfying achievement following a skein of November disappointments, and eases another pain within the Wash High athletic family. Popular equipment manager Dick Hardie, who had been in declining health, died Nov. 16, nine days before his team ascended the District 7 mountain.

But while WPIAL gold glitters impressively, Wash High’s players and coaches realize a more bountiful reward is within their reach. Two more victories and the Prexies will rule their classification in Pennsylvania. Wash High will be PIAA titlists.

That first step will be massive, though. Wash High and Wilmington, the District 10 champ, will face off Friday in a state semifinal. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. at Slippery Rock University’s stadium. Wilmington, likewise, is 13-0. The winner will take on the Southern Columbia-Dunmore survivor in the final the following weekend.

Washington has twice played for a state championship, winning in 2001 and falling in 1993. A third trip to Hershey would be charming, but with stakes so high, the Prexies cannot look ahead. Their focus should be on Wilmington.

A victory Friday could lead to an extended stay in seventh heaven.