Demons creating playoff atmosphere

It?s make-or-break time for the Washington football team.

Friday?s contest against Oskaloosa is big in nearly every sense of the word, with both teams looking to claim their spots in the Class 3A postseason field.

With two games remaining in the season, the method for both teams to get into the postseason is simple: win out and you are in.

?This is a playoff game,? Washington head coach Garrison Carter said. ?If you win, you have a chance to keep playing and if you lose, for all intents and purposes, your season is over. We are treating this week like that and we know it?s a game we have to win.?

Oskaloosa and Washington both enter the game with a 5-2 record, but Oskaloosa holds the edge in district games, posting a 4-1 record, while Washington sits at 3-2 in District 5 play.

With a victory, Washington would draw even with the Indians in the district standings, and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker heading into a Week 9 contest with winless Fort Madison. A win over the Bloodhounds would put the Demons in the second spot in the district, earning an automatic berth to the postseason.

A loss would secure Oskaloosa?s grip on the second-place standing (with Solon all but clinched as the district champion), and leave Washington needing help for one of two statewide wild-card berths.

?For us seniors, the heartbreak we had after Keokuk was pretty high, and we don?t want to feel that way again,? Washington senior Bryce Sinn said. ?We thought our playoff hopes were done after Keokuk. We don?t want to be the first (Washington) team in five years to miss the playoffs.?

Despite being on the ropes earlier this season, the ultimate hopes of the Demon football team haven?t changed, but the attitude toward each week has.

?There?s quite a bit of tradition,? Washington senior John Sands said. ?At the beginning of the season, we said we wanted to win the state championship, but we need to take everything week by week.?

That mentality has the Demons ready to play on Friday night.

?I think we are ready to go,? Washington senior Aaron Vittetoe said. ?We are all locked in at practice and I think we?ll be ready to go.?

Hitting their groove

The Washington offense took a huge blow during practice last week, when they lost quarterback Ryan Reighard to an ACL tear, but during Friday night?s victory over West Burlington, didn?t seem to miss a beat.

Three days after losing their quarterback, Demon junior Jaivonn Willis stepped into the role, and helped lead a talented offense to one of its most impressive victories of the season.

?I haven?t really noticed too much (difference),? Vittetoe, a starting guard for the Demon offensive line, said. ?We stick with our fundamentals and good things happen. If we show up and be fundamentally sound, good things will happen.?

The line helped the Demon offense put up 49 points against West Burlington, tying the team?s season high from Week 2.

With Willis spending a full week as the team?s quarterback in practice, the offense could be in store for some more action.

?(Jaivonn) is doing a tremendous job with the role,? Carter said. ?We don?t have to change much of the offense to put him in there. He?s a tremendous athlete and he picks up the offense well, and he throws the ball extremely well too. It?s a full offense  on Friday night.?

That belief in Willis also extends to his whole team.

?It?s unfortunate what happened to Ryan, but it?s next man in,? Vittetoe said. ?It?s do or die right now, and I think we are coming together. We are hitting our stride and if we stay focused good things will happen.?

Scouting Week 8

The Washington secondary will be in store for a big test on Friday night, going up against the district?s top passer, Ethan Arnold.

The Osky senior leads the district in passing yards (1,578, 225.4 per game) and passing touchdowns (16), while only tossing six interceptions this season, and they have no shortage of guys who can catch the ball.

Six different Oskaloosa athletes have caught a touchdown pass, with five different athletes recording at least 10 catches on the season, led by the district?s top statistical receiver Bennett Spry, who has 537 yards and five scores.

The Demon defense knows they?ll have their work cut out for them.

?We just have to play our spots,? Sands, a cornerback, said. ?We can?t blow our coverage and we need to keep the ball in front of us. We need to lock them down.?

Sands and the Demon defense are coming off arguably their best performance this season against West Burlington, notching a pair of interception returns for touchdowns. Those picks were assisted by the pressure put on by the guys up front who accounted for 13 tackles for a loss and six sacks against the Falcons.

?It starts with pressure up front, and our defensive line and linebackers do a tremendous job of getting pressure,? Carter said. ?Our secondary guys have shown in recent weeks that they do a tremendous job of matching up with anyone and can attack the ball in the air.?

With Washington playing a complete game last week, Carter thinks his team is ready to make some noise on the road.

?We are right where we want to be at this point in the season,? Carter said. ?We are clicking on all cylinders and we are playing good football.?

Kickoff

The Demons will open their game against Oskaloosa at 7:30 p.m. at the Lacy Recreation Complex. Washington fans are encouraged to park and enter on the east side of the stadium.