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Panthers snap the streak
Mt. Pleasant beats Washington for 1st time since 2008
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
MT. PLEASANT — For the first time in 17 years, the Mt. Pleasant football team has defeated its archrival from the north.
In Friday night’s district opener, the Panthers snapped a 14-game Washington winning streak in the series, winning 44-20 to beat the Demons for the first time since 2008.
“We talked about it, obviously, this week,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach John Bowlin. “It just tells us everything about our guys in the locker room, what they’ve done and how hard they work.”
Despite a raucous Homecoming crowd, it was the Demons who threw the first punch. Washington scored on its first drive of the contest, converting on two third downs before punching it in on a 2-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Kael Williams.
That was the only score of the first quarter, which ended in a 7-0 Washington advantage, but Mt. Pleasant would tie things up in the second. Much like the Demons, the Panthers marched down the length of the field, eventually scoring on a 1-yard, fourth down touchdown run by Ramzy Davis.
The first half saw a lot of hard-nosed runs from both teams, as Washington and Mt. Pleasant ate clock early with run-heavy drives. The Demons would score again on another run by Williams with 3:20 remaining, which brought the score to 14-7 Washington.
That’s when things first started to sway the Panthers’ way, starting with a huge return on special teams, as Mt. Pleasant’s Griffen Jones scooped up a squib kick at the Panther 25, spun away from tacklers and brought it all the way back for a 75-yard touchdown return. The game was tied again, at 14-14, with 3:07 remaining in the half.
Mt. Pleasant would get the ball back on an interception by Asa Rose, and the Panther offense could go back to work, grinding away on the ground to score another touchdown, this time a 3-yard score from Jones.
“This is a game we had circled since the start of the year,” said Panther offensive lineman Jaymisen Rich. “We knew this was a game we wanted after last year.”
The Panthers led 20-13 after a botched extra point attempt, and that’s where the score would be at halftime. Mt. Pleasant stretched the lead to two possessions when kicker Dylan White nailed a 27-yard field goal with 7:38 remaining in the third quarter.
Washington, however, wasn’t ready to go away just yet.
The Demons responded to the Mt. Pleasant field goal with another long drive. This one ended with a bang, as Williams got loose against the Panther defense, scrambling around for a 35-yard score, which, after the extra point, made it 23-20 with 4:28 remaining in the third.
The ensuing drive would prove to be a dagger for the visiting Demons. Mt. Pleasant took advantage of some good field position after the kick, and marched downfield again. The Panthers would eat up more clock, and Ryan Helling would find the end zone with less than 20 seconds left in the third quarter.
Up 30-20, Mt. Pleasant went with a surprise onside kick, which fell perfectly in the hands of Jack Newman. Mt. Pleasant didn’t score on the next possession, but they were able to pin Washington back inside of the 20-yard line, down 10 points with just 11 minutes remaining.
The biggest defensive play of the game happened with just under 10 minutes to play. On 3rd and 9, Williams tried to get the first down with a throw down the right side, but Mt. Pleasant’s Brody Clark leaped up to intercept the ball and brought it 26-yards back to the end zone for a pick-six.
“I had plenty of blockers,” said Clark. “It was just a great play. I am so glad for my teammates. It was a crazy night, and I’m so glad our fans are here supporting us.”
The floodgates opened up after that. Clark caught a touchdown pass from Grayson Walker to close out the scoring, and Lathan Novak-Watson picked off a pass in the final minutes for the exclamation mark.
“That’s guys being in the right spot at the right time,” said Bowlin. “We had a few interceptions, and we had Jones on the kick off return. Our guys were breaking tackles and getting extra yards. They just wanted it.”
Mt. Pleasant had a balanced offensive attack in the win. Helling’s 93 yards and a score led the way on the ground, while Davis rumbled for 52 yards and a touchdown.
Walker through for 72 yards and a score, while Jones completed a 28-yard pass to Kaden Schadt on a trick play. Isaiah Lange and Newman had 35 yards and 34 yards receiving respectively.
Defensively, Max Sloat led the way for the Panthers, tallying nine total tackles.
Williams ran for 89 yards and three scores, while throwing for 141 to lead the Demon offense. Caden Greiner had a nice night as well, rushing for 48 yards.
Stone was Williams’ favorite receiver by far. He caught seven passes for 97 yards in the loss.
Blaine Rees led the defense with nine tackles. Washington did not have a takeaway in the game.
“You’ve got to tip the hat to Mt. Pleasant,” said Washington head coach Kelly Williams. “When we went through the line at the end, I gave Coach Bowlin a big hug. That man has been working really hard for this team down here.”
Williams also talked about the Washington winning streak, which was snapped right before a potential 15th win. The two teams didn’t play in 2010 or 2011 due to district shake-ups, but the Demons had beaten the Panthers in every year since 2012.
“It had been 6,199 days,” said Williams. “Streaks come to an end. Tip your hats to them.”
Mt. Pleasant is now 4-1 on the year and 1-0 in district play. The Panthers will be in Fort Madison this Friday. Washington is 2-3 and 0-1, and will host Fairfield for Homecoming.
Editors note: This was the last game played by Washington senior Carson Ryan, who tragically lost his life over the weekend. For more information on Ryan, see the front page of the Sept. 30, 2025 edition of the Southeast Iowa Union.
