Washington, Mt. Pleasant district football preview

Washington and Mt. Pleasant finished fifth and sixth in Class 3A’s district 4 last season.

It was a tough field then and it’s looking like it’s going to be another stout district, but the Demons and Panthers bring back some big players as they look to climb the rankings.

Washington ended 1-4 and Mt. Pleasant closed with an 0-5 record.

The grouping features the likes of SEC rivals Fort Madison and Keokuk, but also highly touted Davenport Assumption and powerhouse Mount Vernon.

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Mount Vernon and Assumption took the top two spots. The Spartans took the district title with a 5-0 record, while the Knights ended with a 4-1 record.

Fort Madison and Keokuk rounded out the middle ground with records of 3-2 and 2-3 respectively.

Despite some tough competition, the Panthers and Demons have the potential to rise in the 2024 rankings as they bring back a good amount of their core from last year.

The Demons bring back more than a handful of their offensive talent, along with a number of defensive players as well.

Washington’s leading passing, rusher and receiver unite once again.

Logan McDole was the Demons quarterback in 2023, finishing with 770 yards, while scoring six touchdowns. McDole is set to take the helm one last time.

Kael Williams led the Demons in rushing, tallying 594 yards and seven touchdowns. Outside of Williams and McDole in the rushing category, look for Keider Gomez Valdez and Julian Carter to get touches.

The Demons top three receivers are back for the 2024 campaign in Mason Morgan, Conner Leyden and Jayfred Espinosa. Morgan was McDole’s top target last season, posting 325 yards with four touchdowns. Leyden (145 yards) and Espinosa (83 yards) each caught a touchdown as well.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Demons top two tacklers from a year ago graduated. Now senior Julian Carter finished with the third most tackles in 2023, notching 31.5.

The next closest was Caden Greiner with 28.5 and Morgan with 22.5.

Much like Washington, Mt. Pleasant will see some familiar faces this season, returning its leading passer, rusher and tackler from a year ago.

Leading in the following three categories is now senior Payton Walker. Walker led the Panthers under center and is likely to take that role again.

In 2023, Walker finished with 582 passing yards, 609 rushing yards and 71 tackles. He finished with 12 touchdowns. All were team bests.

Along with Walker, Zach Newton and Cooper Coleman both saw action at the quarterback position. The pair are back again.

In the rushing department, Jackson Newman (45 yards), Kellen Kohorst (44 yards) and Newton (36 yards) return. Newton was the only other Panther besides Walker to rush for a score in 2023.

Where the Panthers will have to make some replacements is in receiving.

The Panthers top four receivers from last season are now gone. Walker (51 yards) and Coleman (20 yards) were the next highest, meaning Mt. Pleasant will have to develop some new wideouts.