Sizing up Prexies: They should be good again
Connor Bedillion, Jordan Swart, and Darius Asbury work to finish ten forty-yard times that make the cut.
Dylan Anderson, Brent Jackson, Isaiah Edwards, and Andre Jennings work to complete ten forty-yard sprints in times that make the cut.
If one goes by the body mass index scale, Ian Smith is considered overweight. Just don’t tell that to the players and coaches on Washington High School’s football team. They might not hold back the laughs. Smith certainly is 285 pounds and that weight fills a body that is 6-8 tall.
“They don’t take into account how tall I am,” said Smith. “The doctors tell me it’s a good weight, the coaches don’t want me to cut any weight, just keep lifting and get stronger. If I put on the weight, I put on the weight.”
The junior left tackle might not be the one you want to fall on you in practice, but imagine what opposing coaches and players see when Smith walks out for warm-ups before a game. It can be an intimidating feeling looking across the line of scrimmage and realizing that one of the largest linemen in the WPIAL is there and it’s your assignment to stop him.
“I started to shoot up around seventh grade, but everyone is starting to catch up now,” said Smith. “I used to wrestle so that helped getting me into a three-point stance or four-point stance. It also helped with agility and stamina.”
Don’t bother asking Smith why he doesn’t play basketball for the Prexies. He freely admits that particular sport was left out of his DNA. “Basketball is not something I do well,” said Smith. “I’m the worst basketball player you’ll ever meet.”
Smith can do a lot of things. He plays the trombone in the marching band, though not at halftime of the football games, he is involved in the drama club and recently began working as a part-timer at a steak house in Washington.
Smith’s role as left tackle with the football team has taken added meaning after nearly 3,000 yards of offense was lost to graduation. Most of the skill-position players moved on, including Kurt Adkins, the Observer-Reporter Boys Athlete of the Year. Adkins, a hard-running back, led the Prexies with 1,237 yards and 21 touchdowns. Jordan West gained 1,003 yards rushing but what was most impressive was his per-carry average, 15.4 yards. And Markel Pulliam, the multi-threat quarterback, had 522 rushing yards, 282 passing and scored nine times.
“We’ve been here before,” head coach Mike Bosnic said of rebuilding. “We lost a great group of seniors. But we have some talented kids who are ready to step up and fill roles at key positions. I think we’re going to hit the ground running. I’m sure we’ll have some growing pains.”
Connor Bedillion, a 5-11, 170-pound senior, will step in for Pulliam. Bedillion is inexperienced, throwing just 10 passes on varsity and getting two rushing attempts last season. If that’s a concern for Bosnic, he isn’t showing it.
“He’s the lead candidate,” Bosnic said. “He’s very intelligent, has a very high sports IQ. He’s throwing the ball well right now. Markel was able to make big plays for us and was a dangerous threat. Connor throws the ball a little bit better and is more of a traditional quarterback.”
The running game will be arguably the most interesting of camp. Two senior scatbacks – Lyle Webb and Zyan Wallace – will get the first chance to become the new Adkins-West threat. Because Washington rolled through the regular season with an undefeated record, Webb and Wallace got some carries and produced similar stats. Wallace averaged 6.8 yards on 28 carries and gained 175 yards. Webb averaged 5.3 yards on his 26 carries for 139 yards. Nick Welsh, a junior, transferred from Trinity and will get a look.
“We had two really special guys in the backfield last year in Kurt and Jordan,” Bosnic said. “They will be missed. But we have a stable of running backs who can step up.”
Two transfers from Laurel Highlands – both nephews of Bosnic – should help. Jacob Swartz is a 6-4, 225-pound senior tight end-defensive end. His brother, Zach, is a freshman and plays quarterback and receiver.
Senior Ross Goldstone (6-2, 300) should be the right tackle, either junior Nick Pawuk (5-10, 220) or junior Anthony Rivera (6-0, 280) will be at right guard and junior Michel Brown (6-3, 230) is at center. Senior Liam Wolf (6-0, 215) is the left guard and Smith is at tackle. Andrew Mercer (6-2, 280), a senior, will get into the rotation.
Junior Jackson Interval, the team’s leading tackler, is back at middle linebacker and Isaiah Schoonmaker (6-1, 160), a junior, is next to him. Mercer and Smith will fill the middle tackle spots.
Washington won the Interstate Conference and split its two WPIAL playoff games last year. The reclassification process by the PIAA pushed Aliquippa and South Fayette out of Class AA but moved traditional power Beth-Center in. The Bulldogs join Washington in the reconstituted Century Conference.