Winging it: Wash High’s offense powered by offensive line
Being crowned a WPIAL champion isn’t the only motivation for the Washington High School football team’s offensive line.
When chicken wings are mentioned, the front five for the Little Prexies, who are far from little, make sure to take notice.
“I don’t know who enjoys wing night more, me or the kids,” said Wash High head coach Mike Bosnic, who occasionally treats the offensive line for wings.
“It’s definitely a motivator for them.”
With the biggest of the bunch, 6-8, 280-pound senior right tackle Ian Smith, joined by backside tackle John Griffin, a 6-2, 260-pound senior, 6-3, 260-pound senior left guard Myckel Brown, 6-2, 260-pound sophomore center Gerald Comedy and 5-11, 255-pound senior guard Nick Pawuk, it’s still not sure who takes the biggest hit: the restaurant or Bosnic’s wallet.
With the combination of weightlifting and wing eating, the group has turned into an unstoppable force that has yet to meet an immovable object.
“That’s why we keep feeding them wings,” Bosnic joked.
But the tight-knit group – the players are full of jokes after playing together since middle school – knows when it’s time to get serious.
They’ve been at the forefront of creating nightmares for defensive coaches whose job it is to stop the Wash High offense that is averaging averaged 43 points per game.
“There’s nothing like being able to line up, say we’re stronger than you and actually show it,” said Pawuk, one of three first-year starters in the group. “It’s about being able to come off the ball as hard as we can and do what we do.”
What the Prexies have been able to do is rack up 5,347 yards of total offense in 12 games, opening gaping holes for senior running back Nick Welsh and keeping sophomore quarterback Zack Swartz upright in the pocket.
“It’s a big job to keep Zack standing,” said Griffin, who protects Swartz’s blindside. “We don’t have anybody else back there to fall on. But the trust goes both ways. We trust them to do their job. They trust us up front. If you trust in the offensive line, then there is nothing that can stop us.”
Defending state champion Steel Valley (11-0) will try to do just that at 6 p.m. Saturday when the teams meet for the WPIAL Class 2A championship at Robert Morris University’s Joe Walton Stadium. It is a game the Prexies’ senior-dominated group has looked forward to for quite some time.
“We’ve been dreaming about this week for a long, long time,” Smith said. “Every single day since middle school we’ve thought about getting to this game. It’s finally here.”
If the Ironmen are looking for a starting point in defensing what has turned into a dynamic offense, they will have to turn most of their attention to Welsh. Running behind the massive offensive line, Welsh has 1,979 yards on 162 carries and 26 touchdowns. He averages more than 12 yards per carry and a touchdown every six times he touches the ball.
“The offensive line has come a long way. They’ve matured and jelled,” Bosnic said. “Year after year our program has guys step up. That’s what we’ve seen up front this year. It’s a selfless group. They care more about the team than themselves. They work hard day-in and day-out.”
Wash High will have its work cut out for them against Steel Valley, which has only surrendered 14 points per game this season, third best in AA. The Ironmen have won 26 straight games.
“We’ve always have had a bond,” Brown, the only three-year starter said. “We have a lot of pressure put upon us and always seem to step up. We’ll try to do the same this week.”