Nov 8, 2018 3 min read

It was the immovable object that prevailed last year.

But the overwhelming, unrelenting and dominating defense that lifted the Washington High School football team to its seventh WPIAL championship has come and gone.

Now, with a defense that is surrendering 10 points more than their average last year of 11.5, the Prexies are instead trying to be the unstoppable force.

Washington, the No. 6 seed, will take its high-powered offense into a rematch of last year’s district title when it faces third-seeded Steel Valley tonight in a WPIAL Class AA quarterfinal game at Elizabeth Forward High School.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

“It’s really going to be a tough game for us,” said Washington head coach Mike Bosnic. “Steel Valley is a really good football team. They are very athletic, real tough and aggressive on defense. Perfect games don’t happen but we need to play well, be smart and protect the football. We need to be ready to go.”

With a pair of goal-line stops in the first half, Washington scored 27 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarters of last year’s WPIAL Class AA championship to defeat the Ironmen, 37-10. The game was tied at halftime, 10-10, but the Prexies changed momentum early in the second half when they blocked a punt to take the lead. It was downhill from there for Steel Valley.

“I think there are still a lot of similarities, but it is two different teams,” Bosnic said. “We know how to prepare to win. We’ve established that culture.”

The Prexies will be preparing for a stout Steel Valley defense, which has surrendered only 44 points in its last seven games following a Week 3 loss to Shady Side Academy. In that time, the Ironmen (9-1) have three shutouts and have scored more than 40 points in every game.

Steel Valley running backs Kam Williams and Todd Hill each have more than 1,000 yards rushing. Williams has 1,666 yards on 174 carries. Hill, a Howard recruit, has 103 carries for 1,329 yards and 25 touchdowns.

“They have some great athletes, but we have really good athletes, too,” Bosnic said. “We can give them problems matchup wise. Hopefully, we can take advantage of that.”

No one for Washington (10-1) has performed on offense and defense better than Dan Walker Jr. He has 943 total yards and 16 touchdowns on offense to go along with eight interceptions. Big-play threat Zahmere Robinson has 47 receptions for 1,094 yards and 13 TDs.

Junior quarterback Zack Swartz also has put together a consistent year, completing 117 of 169 passes for 2,205 yards and 28 scores.

“In high school football, to have a great quarterback is big,” Bosnic said. “He is turning into a great football player. He is big, strong, intelligent and can make plays with his legs. He has a championship pedigree to him. He wants, and expects, to make big plays. When it’s crunch time, he wants the ball. He isn’t shying away.”

Washington could benefit from a possible return of running back Dylan Asbury, who was hurt during the Southmoreland game. Asbury is questionable.

“We’ve faced some adversity,” Bosnic said. “We had a lot of inexperience on defense but have gotten better and better each week. I really like where we are as a team right now.”