Sep 23, 2021 4 min read

While they aren’t often crisp in terms of execution, the Washington Prexies often can fall back on their speed and athleticism to get them through.

Friday night was no exception. In a battle of Century Conference unbeaten, the Prexies (5-0, 2-0) overcame a slow start and eventually pulled away from visiting Chartiers-Houston (3-1, 1-1) 35-0 at Wash High Stadium.

Although the Prexies were a bit sporadic on offense in the first half, their defense was nothing short of suffocating, limiting the Buccaneers to 95 yards total offense. Running back Jordan Irson was held to 17 yards on 12 carries

Linebacker Carlos Harper and defensive back Ruben Gordon spent much of the evening shutting off the outside Buccaneers running game while nose guard Cameron Carter-Green plugged the middle.

“Carlos can be a special football player,” Washington coach Mike Bosnic said. “Ruben is a talented individual as well. Our defensive front did a real good job tonight as well.”

Chartiers-Houston coach Terry Fetsko said he knew his squad was facing a large challenge when dealing with the larger Prexies up front.

“Up front, we didn’t control the line, that was a big factor in our run game,” Fetsko added. “They (Washington) have a real big, quality team.”

Washington only gained 230 yards total offense for the game as three of their scoring drives were less than 50 yards. The short fields were mainly due to short Chartiers-Houston punts.

The second-half began with the Prexies flexing their muscles. Moving 51 yards in four plays, Washington increased its lead to 28-0 thanks to a one-yard Zach Welch touchdown plunge. Tayshawn Levy’s 41-yard run to the Chartiers-Houston five was the big play in the drive.

Washington enacted the mercy rule late in the third quarter when Davoun Fuse scrambled into the end zone from four yards out. Nick Blanchette’s kick made it a 35 point bulge for the hosts, forcing a running game clock the rest of the way.

Fuse completed seven of 11 passes for 115 yards on the evening.

After an exchange of punts, Washington got their offense in gear on their second possession of the evening. Carlos Harper capped the 49 yard drive with a 25 yard scamper through the heart of the Bucs defense. Nick Blanchette’s kick was true, giving the Prexies a 7-0 lead midway through the first.

Both defenses then flexed their muscles over the final moments of the first quarter an into the midway part of the second.

Justin Beekley recovered a Gordon fumble on the Washington 44, giving the Bucs a prime chance to score. But a Terry Fetsko deep pass intended for Colton Craig was intercepted by Mario Griffin on the Prexies 3, giving the ball back to the hosts.

Griffin would intercept Fetsko again late in the fourth-quarter as the Bucs signal caller sent a desperation heave towards the end zone on fourth and 27 from the Prexies 39.

The Bucs again gained positive field position midway through the second near midfield due to a short punt. But their momentum was blunted when an apparent first down pass to Craig at the Prexies 29 was nullified by an offensive pass interference penalty, which effectively ended the Bucs threat.

Washington took control of the contest over a 1:54 span in the second quarter. Using some chicanery, the Prexies extended their lead to two scores when Levy took a pitch from Fuse, who then threw it back to Fuse for a 24 yard score.

“We have some things like that we go over once a week and the kids really executed it,” Bosnic said in reference to the trick play. “We were able to hit that one and it was big.”

After forcing a three-and-out, the Prexies struck again. Fuse found Gordon for a 31-yard scoring strike, pushing the Prexies lead to 21-0 late in the half.

The Prexies nearly made it a four-score game going into the half when Levy took a lateral from Gordon after catching a short pass from Fuse down to the Bucs 20. Jake Mele forced Levy out of bounds to prevent additional damage.