Patterson leads Washington to season-ending football victory

WEST BURLINGTON — Washington High School doesn't field a one-man football team, but it was one Demon who wreaked the most havoc on West Burlington-Notre Dame Friday.

Washington quarterback Ethan Patterson accumulated 398 yards total offense, passed for two touchdowns and ran for another in the Demons 34-20 victory at Bill Nelson Field.

Patterson set the tone early. He threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to John Prochaska on Washington's first play from scrimmage.

"Their offense is their quarterback and that's not making a slight on any other athletes," WB-ND head coach Joe Bowman said. "It's just impressive of No. 8 (Patterson). We expected them to clearly put the ball in his hands every play and let him make his decisions. They scan you every play and all they were doing is looking at our defense, at where they can get the weakness and attacking off that."

The game was tied at 7-7 after WB-ND's second possession. The Falcons got a first down on four consecutive plays. Quarterback Caden Schwenker ran for a first down at the Washington 49. A 15-yard catch by Carsen Jones was followed by Hayden Vandenberg's consecutive 12-yard runs. On fourth-and-goal at the Washington 10, Schwenker's pass was incomplete.

However, a season-long Washington problem — momentum-killing penalties — gave WB-ND new life. On first-and-goal at the 5, Vandenberg scored with 2:41 left in the first quarter.

Javaughn Stuart’s rushing touchdown answered the Falcons tally and Prochaska caught a 26-yard score for a 20-7 lead.

The Falcons' No. 1 dilemma was "the quarterback," Bowman said. "We had to keep him inside the pocket. If we keep him inside the pocket, he can make a lot of throws. Once he gets outside the pocket he's got that run-throw offense and the young man is a phenomenal athlete.“

Led by Vandenberg’s 118 yards on 13 touches, the Falcons gained 234 yards on 39 rushes. Vandenberg's second touchdown was a 45-yarder with 1:15 left for a 20-14 halftime score.

Neither team could score in the third quarter, but WB-ND tied it early in the fourth on Jackson Riley's seven-yard run.

"They've got a new coach (Nick Ehret) there and they got more involved as the season went on," Bowman said.

The Demon defense rose up to limit the Falcons in the fourth quarter, Casen Evans had 8.0 tackles, five solo, Kroll 10.5, seven solo. James Strabala recovered a fumble and made 9.0 stops and Ethan Zieglowsky 8.5. Both had six solo.

Patterson rolled out wider than most high school quarterbacks do.

"He's confident in his ability, so when he rolls out it's not just the fact that he's stretching your defense," Bowman said. "It's the fact that he doesn't panic. He keeps his eyes downfield. He extends the play. He finds your weakness. If it's there in the air, he'll take it with the strong arm. If it's not, he's got the legs to make you pay."

Those legs helped the Demons regain the lead on an 8-yard run and Javaughn Stuart scored for the final tally.

Washington ended its season at 4-5. WB-ND remained winless in nine games, but the Falcons were certainly not outclassed by the Demons.

Bowman could have been any and every coach talking when he said the seniors will be missed, but there is an exciting group returning, “if they commit to the offseason, the talent's there. But it's all about that commitment."

W. WB-ND

First downs. 16. 14

Rushes-yards 35-174. 39-234

Passing yards 254. 21

Comp-Att-Int. 12-19-0. 2-7-0

Total offense. 428. 255

Fumbles-lost. 1-0. 3-0

Punts-average. .1-20. 2-31

Penalties-yards. 6-48. 8-50

Scoring by quarters

Washington 7 13 0 14 — 34

WB-ND 7 7 0 6 — 20

Scoring

Washington—John Prochaska, 70 pass from Ethan Patterson (Patterson kick)

WB-ND—Hayden Vandenberg, 5 run (Taylor Lundgren kick)

Washington — Patterson, 8 run (Patterson kick)

Washington—Prochaska, 26 pass from Patterson (kick failed)

WB-ND—Vandenberg, 45 run (Lundgren kick)

WB-ND—Jackson Riley, 7 run (kick failed)

Washington—Patterson, 8 run (Patterson kick)

Washington — Tayven Stuart, 1 run (Patterson kick)

Individual statistics

RUSHING: Washington — Patterson 19-148, J Stuart 8-22, T Stuart 6-1, Lucas Kroll 2-9. West Burlington-Notre Dame — Vandenberg 13-118, Isaiah Fenton 8-56, Caden Schwenker 7-28, Riley 9-22.

PASSING: Washington — Patterson 13-21-0-254. West Burlington-Notre Dame — Schwenker 2-6-0-21, Vandenberg 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING: Washington — Prochaska 3-87, Kasen Bailey 3-67, Austin Rebling 3-14, T Stuart 1-20, Kroll 3-67. West Burlington-Notre Dame — Carsen Jones 1-15, Dylan Kipp 1-6.