Eye on the Fall: Part 1

August only just began, but with a scheduled break in the action, it?s never too early to start looking ahead.

In less than a month, runners will be starting their first cross-country races of the season, the first volleyball serves of the year will be going up and touchdowns will begin to be scored.

In the first part of a two-part column series, I?m going to take a look at the upcoming fall sports season and detail the teams that should make a large impact this year.

Each day, I?ll focus on one football, one volleyball and one cross-country team that has the potential to thrill local fans this season.

Washington football

Sure, they lost a number of talented seniors from last year, but the Demons are set to reload with a young and athletic roster.

With all the reloading, all eyes will be on the quarterback position, which was a key reason for Washington?s success in 2014.

The Demons will look to replace three-year starter Daryn Sebelius, who had his best season as a senior.

Sebelius completed over 60 percent of his passes for 1,832 yards last season, tossing 16 touchdowns, but was equally impressive with his legs, running for 1,127 yards and 17 touchdowns from under center.

Whoever takes over for Sebelius in Week 1 against reigning state champion Pella, will have a number of weapons around him.

Two of the top receivers from 2014, Dakota Suchan and Jack Giardino, will be seniors this season, while sophomore Jaivon Willis will look to expand his role as a receiver.

Suchan and Giardino combined for 59 catches and 858 yards last season.

Willis was a late addition to the varsity roster last season, only making six catches, but four of those went for touchdowns.

The Demons will have a number of open defensive spots as well, but as the 2014 Demons showed, they tend to just get better as the year goes on.

The biggest obstacle facing Washington this year is a brutal schedule.

After opening on the road against Pella, the Demons will still have to host Clear Creek-Amana, Solon and Mt. Pleasant, while traveling to Fairfield and Davenport Assumption.

Mid-Prairie girls? cross-country

After earning the school?s first team-qualification to state in 2014, the Mid-Prairie girls? cross-country team will look to make it two years in a row.

They?ll have a good opportunity to do just that, as they return all seven runners who raced in the state meet last season.

The Hawks, led by sophomore Anna Hostetler (sixth in state last year), finished in sixth-place overall at state as a team.

With Maddie Zahradnek (18th at state), and Abby Tornow (23rd at state) rejoining Hostetler this season, the Hawks are primed to return to Fort Dodge and make even more noise.

Washington volleyball

The Demons ended the season in 2014 with a record that they weren?t happy with, but that figures to improve this season.

After losing only four seniors from last year?s team, the Demons will have a number of talented returners taking the floor this fall, and it starts with senior Amber Salow.

Salow led last season?s team with 102 kills (1.62 per set), and was an effective server, posting 21 aces and a 91.2 percent server.

Leading all returners in serves is senior Morgan Kimball, who had 29 aces and a team-high 92.6 serving percentage last season.

The biggest drop-off for the Demons will be in assists.

The now-graduated Lauren Swan had 325 assists last year for the Demons. The returning team member with the most assists is McKenna Brinning, who had eight last season. .

Defensively, the Demons lose their top specialist in Macy Marek, who had 203 digs last season, but the next three on the list (Emma Stout, Kimball and Salow) will all return this year.

With a solid core, the Demons will be ready to surprise people this season.