Wash High avoids upset, wins ugly
Prexies Chance Cohen breaks free from Shady Side Academy's Eddie Faulkner and rambles 13 yards to score Washington's second touchdown in the first round playoff game at Washington Friday. That score put Washington up over Shady Side 14-0 at the half.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Caleb Jackson wards off Shady Side’s Tanner Thomas and sets up Washington’s first touchdown in the first-round playoff game at Washington Friday night.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Caleb Jackson eludes Shady Side’s Joey Bellinotti on a punt return in the first quarter of the WPIAL playoff game at Washington Friday.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Washington’s Zakhi Marshall pressures Shady Side quarterback Josh Castro, forcing an incompletion in the WPIAL first-round playoff game at Washington Friday night.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Tayshawn Levy returns a kick past Shady Side Academy’s coverage in the playoff game at Washington Friday night.
The WPIAL football playoffs can be a dangerous place.
No matter the round, a lot of snakes are slithering along in the tall grass, waiting to rise up and strike an unsuspecting team.
But Washington High School made sure it wasn’t a first-round victim to Shady Side Academy on a frigid Friday night at Wash High Stadium.
The Prexies raced to a three-touchdown lead, then held off a surge by Shady Side Academy to take a 21-7 victory. Washington will face Charleroi in the second round next week at a site and time to be determined.
Washington, the champion of the Century Conference, came into the game winning all 10 regular-season games. This was the 708th victory in Wash High’s history, fourth-best in the WPIAL.
Shady Side Academy, which has a 23-man roster and was forced to forfeit a Week 5 game against Apollo-Ridge because of a lack of healthy players, finished the season at 5-5.
Wash High had turnovers, penalties and missed opportunities early in the game and allowed Shady Side Academy to control the football for nearly the entire second half. Wash High’s defense made one stop and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on SSA at the Wash High one killed another scoring chance over the last two quarters.
“We told the kids that we have to be a heck of a lot better than were were tonight or it will be our last game,” said Wash High head coach Mike Bosnic, who has the Prexies in their 10th postseason of his 11-year tenure.
“They controlled the ball because we arm-tackled. We’ll focus on that.”
Quarterback Zack Swartz scored on a pair of one-yard runs on sneaks. His 48-yard pass to Zahmere Robinson set up one of those scores in the first half. There were precious few opportunities in the second half.
“They controlled the ball on us in the second half,” Swartz said. “We needed to take better advantage when we had the ball. The turnovers took away our momentum and gave them momentum. It’s a bad victory but it’s a victory.”
Shady Side Academy used the running game to hurt Washington in the second half. Quarterback Josh Castro rushed for a game-high 140 yards on 28 carries and scored soon a one-yard run with 4:34 left.
“Our kids gave an outstanding effort,” said SSA head coach Chuch DiNardo. “We liked the way we moved the ball. We found a few areas that we liked and hit them a little bit. (Castro) did a great job for us.”
It was an ugly first half for Washington with three turnovers and two offside penalties that gave Shady Side Academy first downs.
Washington scored on a one-yard sneak, set up by the completion to Robinson, to make it 7-0 at the 7:59 mark.
The Prexies made it 14-0 7:32 before halftime when Chance Cohen broke off a 13-yard run.
Wash High threatened before halftime, driving to the Shady Side Academy 9-yard line but a fourth-down pass by Swartz fell incomplete.
Notes
Senior Mason Tomlin, son of Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, was not in uniform for the game. … This was Wash High’s 45th playoff victory.