Washington freshmen have a ?bad night? against Keokuk

Keokuk returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown in Friday?s freshman football game at Case Field, and things only got worse the rest of the way for Washington as the Chiefs won 53-0.

?They returned the opening kick for a touchdown, and that set the tone for a bad night,? Washington coach Jay Zieglowsky said.

The Chiefs totaled 379 yards in the contest, including 299 on the ground. Meanwhile, Washington gained just 121 total yards.

?Our guys just did not respond well to adversity this week,? Zieglowsky said. ?Throughout the game they just kind of lost their fire, and I was disappointed in that. When the chips are down, you?ve got to dig deeper, and I didn?t think they dug deeper. I was disappointed in their effort.?

Christian Mejia rushed for 57 yards on 14 carries for the Demons (1-4), and Ethan Hansen added 55 yards on 17 attempts. Bryce Rickey ran for 22 yards on nine carries.

Hansen made six tackles to lead the Demon defense, and Mejia and Jose Tapia added three stops apiece. Darius Stogner and Mitchell Kelly both had a pair of tackles in the contest.

The Washington freshman football team travels to Williamsburg on Friday night to take on the Raiders at 5 p.m.