Washington football holds off Oskaloosa

WASHINGTON — Washington football opened its season on the right note Friday night after holding off the Indians of Oskaloosa 21-14.

The Demons got a little revenge as well after suffering a 28-14 loss to the Indians in 2023.

Washington wasted no time, making a statement on the opening kickoff.

Junior running back Kael Williams put Washington on the board with an 81 yard kick return for a touchdown.

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The Demons controlled for the majority of the first half, but held onto just a 14-0 lead at the break.

Washington quarterback Logan McDole connected with Jayfred Espinosa for a 20-yard touchdown pass on 3rd and 9 midway through the second quarter to give the Demons their second taste of the end zone.

That two touchdown lead wouldn’t last.

The Indians opened the second half with a touchdown on their first drive. After a nice return on the kickoff, it took Oskaloosa five plays to find pay dirt, scoring on a six yard rush to make it 14-7.

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After back-to-back punts by the Demons, Oskaloosa knotted the game up on an eight-yard touchdown catch and run on third down.

Oskaloosa would never score again.

Meanwhile, the Demons jumped back on top on their ensuing drive. Washington put together a five play drive that ended with Mason Morgan in the end zone after taking a McDole screen pass 25 yards.

That proved to be the game winner, but it wasn’t easy.

On the Indians next drive spanned 12 plays, but ended with a fumble at the pylon after the Indians tried to stretch for the touchdown.

The referees conversed for a bit and came to the decision that it was a touchback fumble, not a touchdown, giving Washington the ball back.

Washington was forced to punt once again, but the Indians couldn’t get back into it as they fumbled again with a chance to tie and just 90 seconds remaining.

“There was some adversity in the game,” Washington head coach Kelly Williams said. “We played really well in the first half and then came out and got punched in the mouth early in the second half. But we responded and didn’t start pointing the finger. We just kept plugging away, and I’m just happy for our kids.”

With the win, Washington improves to 1-0. The Demons will head to Burlington (1-0) in their next matchup.