Willis’ interception leads Demons to win

On a nasty, rainy, slippery night when players had trouble catching the ball, a Demon interception single-handedly changed the game.

Fort Madison had driven from its own 22 early in the third quarter Friday against Washington in a Class 3A District 6 game. Trailing 15-7, the Bloodhounds had a third-and-goal at the 6 with a chance to possibly tie the game.

Instead, the Demons go up 22-7 thanks to a 94-yard interception return for a touchdown by Trashaun Willis.

0n a night when the painted Demon on the field looked more like a fish because of all the water and the game was delayed twice because of the weather, Willis snared the slippery ball with his one hand and gave the Demons the momentum for a needed victory, winning 32-7.

'He is that type of exceptional kid,” Washington coach James Harris said. 'That is why he is starting as a sophomore at the ‘Mike' linebacker. He does have a handicap, but he is not disabled. He is more able than so many of us. He is a big physical kid who is smart and talented.”

That talent was on display Friday as he changed the course of the game.

'The play before that, I saw (Tristan) Allender tip the pass,” Willis said. 'Our defense was bringing some heat. The next play, I just read it and I saw it all the way, so I caught it and I took off. I don't think I have ever ran that hard in my life. I was going! I caught it and I didn't think I had far to go, but I looked up and saw I still had a long way. It was crazy.”

'I will take all the blame on that,” Ft. Madison coach Tony Shiffman said. 'It was a bad play call by me. We had picked up that Washington liked to bring a lot of pressure on third down, but they didn't that time and that was when we expected it. I put our quarterback in a bad situation. That is one that will eat at me for awhile because if we score there, it's a whole new ball game.”

'I feel like it really switched the momentum,” Willis said. 'At halftime, Coach Harris said we needed to match their intensity. I feel like we were able to do that.”

The intensity of the rain before the game had created a soaked field.

The coin toss was conducted on the 30 because of the small pond that engulfed midfield.

Cade Hennigan got the Demons off to a great start with a 60-yard punt return. A complete pass to Chase McDole went for 8 yards, then Luke Turner found Ethan Hunt in the end zone for a 7-0 lead.

The Bloodhounds had second-and-9 when Hennigan stepped in front of a pass and waltzed into the end zone. Turner ran in the two-point conversion for a 15-0 lead with 8:26 left in the first quarter.

'I guess you can't get off to a better start than we did,” Harris said. 'I'd really like a Friday with some decent weather, a nice fall evening would be great.”

Before the Demons could kick off after the score, weather intervened and the teams were sent to the locker room. The Demons threw an interception in the end zone on their first possession after returning to the field.

'We came out a little flat after that,” Harris said.

Fort Madison put together a 12-play drive, helped by a defensive pass interference on a fourth down, that resulted in a Kali Maestro touchdown run from the 11 for a 15-7 score with 1:53 left in the first quarter.

The Demons got the ball first in the second half but punted, setting up the Bloodhounds' drive that ended with the Willis' interception for a score.

'It was just second nature (to catch the ball), growing up playing football with my brother and my dad every day,” Willis said. 'I think someone might have tipped it because then I had to kind of tip it back to myself to get it, then I took off.”

With 6:42 left in the third quarter it was 22-7 Demons.

A Ft. Madison 3-and-out followed and Washington kicked a 38-yard field goal for a 25-7 lead.

Ethan Hunt intercepted a pass on the Bloodhounds next possession but a failed fourth-down pass at the Bloodhounds' 12 kept the score at 25-7.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Demons took over at midfield after a punt. Five plays later, Hunt made a leaping grab in the back corner of the end zone for a 32-7 lead for Washington with 10:01 left.

Weather sent the teams to safety with 6:28 remaining.

Each team possessed the ball twice more before the final horn sounded. The most exciting play was when Wyatt Stout blocked a punt with 3:25 left.

Despite the weather, the Demons passed a lot. 'That is just where we have had success,” Harris said. 'It was coming down hard and we were throwing the ball all over. I guess it wasn't hard to throw, but it was hard for us to catch it.”

Turner had more pass attempts (27) than any other game this season and the second most completions (12). Tristin Westphal-Edwards rushed 10 times for 47 yards.

'There are so many logistics that go in to dealing with the weather,” Harris said. 'Athletic director Brent Van Weelden does a great job dealing with everything and getting everything organized.”

Ft. Madison's Lennon Barker was 7 for 27 for 62 yards and ran 14 times for 51 yards. Maestro had 55 yards on 15 carries.

'To get this win is a big energy booster and our confidence has gone up a lot,” Willis said. 'We want to finish the year out without a loss to give us a chance at the playoffs.”

Washington is 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the district. The Demons host Fairfield (4-3, 2-1) next week and then play at Mt. Pleasant (4-3, 2-1) to end the regular season.

Ft. Madison is 2-5, 0-3.