Demons dominate in opener

It didn?t take long for the Washington football team to start a rhythm in the 2016 season.

Less than one minute into the season-opening contest at Albia, Washington junior quarterback Ryan Reighard found himself in open space, and took full advantage of it.

Seventy-one yards later, the Demons had all the points they would need for a victory.

?I don?t really know where that came from,? Reighard said. ?The line was great and the pulls were perfect. The hole went wide open and I took off. I used my running back skills.?

The opening score from Reighard jump-started a 35-point first half for the Demons, as the defense did their part, posting a shutout for a 42-0 victory.

?There weren?t a lot of negatives to take from this game,? third-year Washington head coach Garrison Carter said. ?We came in thinking we had to be better up front against a team that traditionally is better than everyone up front. A huge shout-out to the offensive line and how they were able to move people and then the defensive line was able to control Albia?s offense.?

Reighard picked up where he left off last season, accumulating 187 rushing yards on 14 carries for two scores, while completing 11-of-13 pass attempts for 120 yards and another score.

The game featured many firsts for the Demons, with four Demons claiming their first career touchdowns in the victory.

Junior running back Jack Redlinger and sophomore running back Tristan Westphal-Edwards each accounted for a rushing touchdown, while sophomore quarterback Cade Hennigan tossed his first career score in second-half relief, finding senior Bryce Sinn for the tight end?s first career score.

?It?s great to see, and the kid we are most excited about getting into the end zone is Bryce Sinn,? Carter said. ?He?s been the king of getting tackled at the 1-yard line, and that happened in the first half. Getting him into the end zone is great.?

Senior David Mares picked up 49 rushing yards on eight attempts, while junior Jaivonn Willis led the team with four catches for 57 yards and a 23-yard touchdown.

Defensively, the Demons were led by a host of Demons, as seven players recorded a tackle for a loss, highlighted by senior Seth Townsend accounting for 10 stops and two tackles for a loss.

Tanner Murphy and Sinn each had eight tackles and Redlinger and Thomas Zimmer recorded seven tackles in the contest, with Redlinger and Sinn recording sacks.

?We?ve been working really hard in practice and have been swarming to the ball,? Townsend said. ?We knew the defense wasn?t going to let them go very far.?

After the Demons opened the contest with a quick score, a defensive stop gave them the ball right back, and led to another promising drive, but a fumble in the end zone prevented Washington from getting more points on the board.

After trading possessions, an Albia fumble set Washington up 21 yards away from the end zone, where Redlinger used one play to close the distance and score his first career touchdown.

?It was a one-time thing,? Redlinger said. ?The first time? You can?t beat it. It?s the best feeling in the world. I just kept moving forward after the offensive line gave me a good push and I broke a tackle and there I went.?

The next Albia possession ended in a punt, where the ball smacked into the back of the linemen, giving Washington more great starting field position.

Reighard added his second rushing score of the night, along with a two-point conversion to make it 21-0 Demons.

The Demons? next two possessions ended with scores, as a 23-yard pass from Reighard to Willis made it 28-0, with Westphal-Edwards earning his score on a 1-yard rush to put Washington up 35-0.

?I think it?s good,? Carter said. ?We saw a lot of things, and we had a lot more to show tonight, but we ran out of time to do it. We are a complex offense, and with the kids we have, it makes it easier to do a lot of things.?

In the first half, the Demon defense only allowed two Albia first downs.

?Coach (James) Harris was in his debut as the defensive coordinator, and when we hired him, I wanted him to be there because I knew nobody would put in the work he would,? Carter said. ?Albia probably has the biggest playbook of anyone we?ll play, and I thought we did a great job.?

With a running clock in the second half, the Demons turned to Hennigan to helm the Demon offense, where he earned his first touchdown pass early in the third quarter on an 18-yard pass to Sinn.

With one game in the books, Reighard noted that with one year of experience under his belt, things are starting to feel more comfortable for the junior signal-caller.

?I think I?m a little more comfortable in the pocket,? Reighard said. ?I?m being a better vocal leader and I?m trying to lead my guys. I?m just trying to help them win that game. I can?t do it without everyone else out there. I think it?s a great win for us.?

As far as negatives, the Demon head coach noted that there were some things he?d like to see his team clean up, but it was mostly a good showing for his squad.

?I think we had a lot of stupid penalties (on Friday night) and that?s something we?ll address,? Carter said. ?I thought we dominated this football game physically against a good football team, and we didn?t play near our best.?

Washington will renew a county rivalry on Friday night when the Mid-Prairie football team comes to town after a 42-14 victory over Louisa-Muscatine in Week 1.

The Demons are excited to get things going against their rivals.

?We love that we get the opportunity to play Mid-Prairie,? Townsend said.

?Our focus this week is to work on the same thing we did last week. We need to work like we have been all year.?

Check out a preview of Friday?s game in Thursday?s edition of The Journal.