Demons lose heartbreaker in overtime

Several miscues cost Washington a chance to win Friday?s game at Pella, and the Little Dutch defeated the Demons 16-10 in overtime.

With the score knotted at 10-10 late in the game, Washington senior Kyle Roder ran for a long gain on a fake punt. After two runs by junior Tanner Knupp, the Demons had a first down just outside the Pella 10-yard line with just under a minute remaining. But Washington went backward from there, and junior kicker Mason Quigley missed a 38-yard field goal attempt just left in the closing seconds of regulation.

?We made a lot of mistakes in that football game and still had an opportunity to win at the end,? Washington head coach Randy Schrader said. ?What happened was Pella decided they were going to broaden their shoulders and get busy, and we didn?t respond to their intensity late in the game. We lost 12 yards, and maybe if we hadn?t lost those 12 yards, that field goal wouldn?t have missed to the left by a yard.?

Washington got the ball first in overtime, and on second down sophomore quarterback Daryn Sebelius ran for a 10-yard touchdown. But play was nullified when Washington was whistled for an illegal formation on the play, driving the Demons back. They ended up trying a 37-yard field goal, which Quigley again missed just to the left.

?We had a touchdown called back, and that was a big momentum swing,? Schrader said. ?After we missed the field goal [at the end of regulation], we came back and scored, and then it got taken away and our heads went down.?

Given a chance to win the game, Pella took advantage. Senior Chris Brogden ran for an 8-yard touchdown to give the Little Dutch the victory.

?We just couldn?t convert when we needed to when it came to crucial situations, and ultimately came up on the short end,? Schrader said.

But Schrader stressed that he doesn?t blame his kicker for the loss.

?If we have that same opportunity from the same distance 10 times, he?ll go on the field and try it every time,? Schrader said. ?That missed field goal was way down the line in why we came up short in that game. It should have never come down to the field goal.?

Pella scored first when sophomore Seth Johnson knocked in a 43-yard field goal, but Washington took the lead when Sebelius found senior Alan Sanchez for a 16-yard touchdown. Quigley added a 22-yard field goal in the third quarter to give the Demons a 10-3 lead.

Washington was still leading 10-3 late in the game when a snap on a punt sailed over Roder?s head. The Little Dutch recovered, and quarterback Josh De Waard threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to junior Bryce Bortschellar to tie the game.

Snapping the football was one of the Demons? many problems in the game, and Washington used three centers on the night.

?We?ve got some things to work out, and many junior high teams don?t have the problems we?re having,? Schrader said. ?But we?ll get it figured out. We?ll have to in a hurry, because Fairfield is a good football team.?

Washington travels to Fairfield (0-2) next Friday night to take on the rival Trojans in the district opener for both teams.