Demons turn to new signal caller in 2015

One.

That?s a number that has probably been talked about for much of the preseason around the Washington community, and for a number of reasons.

The Demon football team will open their season on Friday night against the No. 1 ranked Pella Little Dutch, who defeated Washington twice en route to a 14-0 state-championship season in 2014.

That number also describes the amount of career snaps under center new Demon quarterback Ryan Reighard will have after the Washington offense completes its first play on Friday night.

Although those examples of the number one could make a team worry, the Demons are focused on putting that one in another place: the win column.

After being bounced out of the playoffs with a 31-14 loss to Pella in the state quarterfinals in 2014, the Demons lost a high number of key athletes, four of whom are currently battling for roster spots on college teams.

That has opened the door for a number of young athletes, including Reighard, a sophomore, who will be opening the year as Washington?s starting quarterback. Despite not having played quarterback in his football career before this offseason, the Demons will be putting him front and center to show off what they think he can do.

?I?m feeling pretty comfortable with it,? Reighard said. ?Everything is a little new to me, since I haven?t been playing quarterback for that long, so I have some nerves up, but I believe that we can get out there and win this game.?

With Reighard?s first game as quarterback coming against the defending state champions, it would be easy for the sophomore to show some nerves before the game. However, he is able to shrug it off.

?It?s pretty rough,? Reighard joked. ?I think we can go out there and get this. Everybody has been working hard and we?ve been fixing our mistakes. We?ve really been getting after it.?

The Demons? new signal caller has been working hard in the offseason, joining head coach Garrison Carter to pore over the playbook, and make sure that he has everything down as he enters week one.

?He?s a kid that?s so bought in,? Carter said. ?After last year, we told him that we might be moving him to quarterback, and there hasn?t been a single day he wasn?t doing something. He?s throwing the ball every day, getting second lifts in, and he wants to be quarterback here.?

Reighard was a running back last season, and admits that his running will still be his biggest strength, but Carter said the sophomore?s progression has exceeded where the team thought it would be.

?He?s doing far better than we even expected,? Carter said. ?He looks like a natural quarterback back there, and he?s one of the more gifted runners we have. He?s put in a lot of time going to quarterback camps and put in the work and it?s showing.?

In front of Reighard, the offensive line, which returns two of the five members who blocked for a 5,000 yard offense a season ago, has been impressed with how the sophomore quarterback has been able to work.

?He?s been doing really well as a newcomer,? junior left tackle Seth Townsend said. ?He?s had to step up and take one of the biggest positions on the team. He?s been doing a great job.?