Williams ready for football season

WASHINGTON — The anticipation is rising every day for the new-look Washington football team, and that all starts with the team’s new head coach.

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Kelly Williams, who was named as the new football coach all the way back in December is now just days away from his first year at the head of the program, and he says his team is raring to go in 2024.

“Since December, it's just been chomping at the bit for August to get here,” Williams said. “One thing we talked about in our first staff meeting was, this year has got to look, feel and sound different.”

Williams, who moves from an assistant coach up to the head coaching position, knows all too well of the team’s struggles in 2023. The Demons went just 2-7 last fall, a mark that put them under .500 for only the second time since 2008.

The Demons sat at 2-4 going into the final three weeks of the season, but weren’t able to pull any upsets against three of the top teams in the district. Washington scored just 13 points in October, picking up losses to Class 3A powers Assumption and Mount Vernon, as well as Fort Madison in the last week of the season.

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This year, the Demons start things off at home against Oskaloosa in Week 1, before heading to Burlington on Sept. 1 for a rematch of one of their two wins last season.

“I think if we look back at last year, there were some times when our confidence wasn't there,” Williams said. “It's a new year.”

The big positive for Washington football coming into the season is the return of most of its offense from last year. Senior quarterback Logan McDole went for over 1,000 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns last season. Junior running back Kael Williams ran for almost 600 yards and found the end zone seven times, and junior receiver Mason Morgan took 20 catches a whopping 326 yards for four scores.

Williams says he expects the entire season to be filled with challenges, saying every week is going to be tough.

Against Oskaloosa last year, the Demons led early before falling 28-14 in a season-opening road trip. After the Burlington win, the Demons fell to Fairfield for the first time in 11 years, losing 23-20. By the end of Week 3, Washington will have faced all three of those teams once again.

Before the murderers row at the end of the season, the Demons will play at Grinnell on Sept. 20, host Keokuk on Sept. 27, and visit Mt. Pleasant on the Panthers’ Homecoming night on Oct. 4.

“Mt. Pleasant is coming,” Williams said. “Back when I played them, they were a very good team, and they're there (now.) Their record hasn’t shown it, but they keep getting better each year.”

The Demons will get their first taste of action this Friday in Muscatine. Kick off for that game is at 5:30 p.m.