Wash High pulls away, stays unbeaten
New Brighton’s Jesse Sabol can’t get Wash High’s Malik Wells as he makes a long run during the second quarter of Friday’s non-conference game against New Brighton. Wells rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. (6) can only grasp the jersey of Wash High’s Malik Wells (24) as he runs for another big gain in the 2nd quarter at Wash High stadium Friday night.
Wash High’s Jonathan Spina (12) wraps up New Brighton’s Rhett Beightley as Malik Wells comes in to help during the second quarter Friday.
When Washington defeated Mt. Pleasant two weeks ago, everyone wanted to talk to head coach Mike Bosnic and his players about the upcoming game with Interstate Conference rival McGuffey.
While fans circled Oct. 24 on the schedule, the Prexies had their minds on a non-conference game against New Brighton. Whether it be Lions quarterback Payton Fath’s throwing arm or the speed of running back Scott Florence, Wash High was not going to overlook New Brighton.
With a possible undefeated regular season on their minds and a large group of McGuffey players in the stands, the Prexies wanted to make a statement against the Midwestern Conference opponent.
They did just that.
After New Brighton scored on its opening possession, Prexies senior quarterback Jonathan Spina accounted for three touchdowns and Wash High’s defense came up with a big third-quarter stop in a 56-21 victory over the Lions Friday night.
The Prexies (6-0, 7-0) will enter Week 8 with an undefeated record for the 10th time in the last 25 years. Seven of the last eight times that occurred, Wash High reached the WPIAL title game.
“There was no question that overlooking them wasn’t even on our minds,” Bosnic said. “We have a lot of respect for (New Brighton). They have a lot of nice athletes and a lot of speed. We were really concerned all week. Hopefully, it opened up some eyes.”
Wash High held a 28-21 lead at halftime after scoring on all four of its possessions in the first half with touchdown runs by junior running back Jordan West and senior running back Malik Wells. Spina also connected with senior wide receiver DeQuay Isbell on a 51-yard touchdown pass.
The problem was the Prexies’ defense’s inability to stop New Brighton’s passing attack. Fath accounted for all three of the Lions’ first-half scores. As Wash High sat in the locker room at halftime, getting one big defensive stop was on the players’ minds. The senior passed for 173 yards, threw for a touchdown and ran for two more.
Wash High received the ball to start the second half and went three-and-out. New Brighton (5-2) marched 76 yards to the Prexies’ 7-yard line, but a fourth-down pass fell incomplete. Four plays later, Spina handed the ball to Wells who tossed it to Isbell on a wide receiver reverse. Isbell ran untouched up the sideline for a 57-yard touchdown.
“We got a big stop in the third quarter, we drove the ball down and we didn’t score,” New Brighton head coach Joe Greco said. “We needed to score there and it was kind of the turning point. They got the momentum back. They have a good team and we have to get better.”
Spina completed four of five passes for 74 yards, threw two touchdowns and ran for another. Starting his first game at defensive back after an injury to Isaiah Robinson, Spina intercepted Spath’s first pass of the next drive and put the Prexies ahead by 21 points with a five-yard touchdown to tight end Nate Swart.
“That stop turned the whole game around,” Spina said. “We came down and scored then they just started quitting. We started getting more energy and they put their heads down. That was the game.”
Wells, who ran for 146 yards on 16 carries, paced the Prexies’ offensive attack. His downhill-running style was too much for the Lions to handle. Many defenders tried tackling the 175-pound tailback high, just to be dragged a few more yards. His nine-yard touchdown gave the Prexies the lead at halftime.
While New Brighton’s weapons on the outside matched Wash High’s speed, the Lions’ defensive line could not find the Prexies’ backfield. Wash High lost yards or had no gain on only three running plays.
“We felt like we had a better offensive line than them coming into this game,” Wells said. “We felt like we could take advantage of that. They opened up some great holes for me, I ran hard as usual and got the job done again.”
With a 21-point lead late in the second half, the second-string players saw extra reps and junior running back Kurt Adkins took advantage. He scored from 19 yards and Lyle Webb added a 16-yard touchdown with less than two minutes remaining.
With an eye on a top-three seed in the WPIAL Class AA playoffs, the Prexies are hoping to go undefeated in the regular season for the second time in three seasons.
“Not too many teams do that, and to come out with a top-three seed would be exciting,” Spina said. “But we still have two more to play.”