Schedule drops 2 tough games for Demons

WASHINGTON - There is a saying about how iron sharpens iron. To improve, teams must challenge themselves. If winning come easily, how will a team respond in a tightly-contested game.

After opening with a home game against Marion, which was 0-9 last year, Washington High School was going to play a vicious three-week slate of non-district football games that included both teams in the 2019 Class 3A title game. The Demons were 7-3 last year.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association then changed things when it reduced the regular season from nine games to seven, thus allowing every team to make the playoffs.

Washington's nemesis Solon was to be the second game of the season and it was at Solon. The Spartans finished second last season in Class 3A with a loss in the title game.

The third game of the season and second in the tough stretch was to be a more-than-three-hour road trip to Western Dubuque, the 2019 Class 3A champion and the site of the Demons 2019 first-round playoff loss. The third game (fourth overall) was to be Davenport Assumption, a perennial playoff team. Two road games and a home contest against those three stacked opponents would have provided a severe test for the Demons.

'Assumption is always well coached and a physical team,” Washington head coach James Harris said. 'I have tremendous respect for all three of those programs and believe me, they all are really good.”

Assumption and Western Dubuque were deleted when the schedule contracted, but Solon remains on the slate as the second game with the first game against Marion in Washington at Case Field. The Demons won at Marion, 27-6 last year. This season, Marion is playing its home games at Linn-Mar because its home field, Thomas Park, was heavily damaged by last week's derecho storm.

Solon was a district home game last year that the Demons led 20-7 at halftime before falling 35-20. Solon is not in the district because they are a Class 2A school this year.

The district games remain the same for teams in the same order as originally scheduled but moved ahead two weeks to allow for the expanded playoffs.

'I think every team in our district will be improved,” Harris said.

Fort Madison, originally Sept. 25, is now Sept. 11 at home. It will be the Heroes Night game when the Demons have honored those in uniform. Washington has special jerseys it wears for that game.

'Fort Madison is returning their quarterback and will continue to be a physical opponent,” Harris said.

The Bloodhounds were 4-5 last season and lost to the Demons in Washington 36-7.

Mt. Pleasant on the road is next for the Demons and last year's game had a lot at stake as the winner would make the playoffs and the loser would not. That produced the incredible 64-61 home Demon victory. The Panthers ended with a 6-3 record.

'Mt. Pleasant could have one of the best and biggest offensive lines in the state and they always have tremendous team speed,” Harris said. 'Playing Mount Pleasant is always one of our most important and competitive games.”

Homecoming is Sept. 25 when the opponent will be Fairfield. The Trojans will be looking for some payback after last season when the Demons rolled to a 71-6 victory in Fairfield.

'Fairfield was playing a lot of young guys last year and with a year of experience, I expect they will have a lot of growth,” Harris said.

New Class 3A member Burlington, down from 4A, is the Oct. 2 home game. The Demons will not get to experience arguably the best and unique high school stadium in the country and definitely the state. Bracewell Stadium is set down in a valley with a waterfall at one end and a rock wall along the visitors side. The field has synthetic grass and a video replay board.

'I don't know much about Burlington yet,” Harris said. 'But I know there are a lot of athletes down there and they have good team speed.”

Burlington was 1-8 last year in 4A but lost to both Keokuk (47-20) and Fort Madison (28-6) in its non-district games.

The final regular season game will be at Keokuk, which was a 49-6 win at Case Field for the Demons in 2019.

'Keokuk will be good,” Harris said. 'They are returning the QB who will be a four-year starter and he has a big 6-foot-4 wide receiver to throw to. I believe they could surprise some people.”

Keokuk and Burlington are both border towns with Illinois and could see some transfer students from Illinois wanting to play football. The Illinois High School Association has changed all the schools' football schedules in the entire state to spring.

There are four games at Case Field and three on the road, possibly the three toughest teams on the Demons schedule are the three road games. There often is a key game for a team, one they point to or one that changes how a season develops.

'In regards to a key game. I think the key will be how we perform on the road,” Harris said.

Harris and the Demons have set an established some goals for the season.

'The mission is to win and grow from every game we play with the ambition to eventually become District 5 champs and then to go on and win Washington's first state championship in football,” Harris said. 'Our expectations as a team are high. We had a good season last year and we return 13 starters.”

Winning is important but in the scope of evaluating an entire season, success is attained in many different ways for Harris and his team.

'God willing, returning to a more normal life again, and just having the season will be a success,” Harris said,

In that season and through the course of playing a game, Harris sees many more chances at success.

'Developing young people as leaders, learning we versus me and ‘process,' overcoming adversity, being good citizens and students and there are numerous other benefits I think playing football provides,” Harris said.

There are a lot of undetermined things for the upcoming season but Harris does not want that to get in the way of his team's focus.

'The message we've been trying to send out to our players is to commit to what is controllable: diligence, humility and reparation.”

Washington schedule

Aug. 21 Scrimmage at Muscatine

Aug. 28 vs. Marion

Sept. 4 at Solon

Sept. 11 vs. Fort Madison

Sept. 18 at Mount Pleasant

Sept. 25 vs. Fairfield

Oct. 2 vs. Burlington

Oct. 9 at Keokuk

Oc. 16 First Round Playoffs