Washington High earns 700th all-time win with rout of Summit Academy

By: George Guido
Saturday, September 7, 2019 | 7:08 PM

Washington High School joined an elite circle of WPIAL schools with its 700th football victory Saturday afternoon at Summit Academy’s Stephen Sherer Field.

The Little Prexies made sure it would be a memorable day, scoring four touchdowns in the first 10 minutes en route to a 58-16 nonconference win.

Washington (3-0, 1-0) joins Jeannette, New Castle and Aliquippa on the list of schools that have earned 700 victories. The Little Prexies are ranked No. 1 in Class 2A by the Trib.

“It’s a pretty special thing,” Washington coach Mike Bosnic said. “I’m proud to be part of a community like Wash High where only a very few teams have done this. It’s a special day for us.”

Said quarterback Zach Swartz: “It feels amazing to be part of this. The tradition started years ago, and we’re just at the time to make it 700, and we’re happy to make it that.”

With a circuit out in Summit Academy’s scoreboard, Washington wasted no time getting on the makeshift, portable wrestling scoreboard. On the first play from scrimmage, Zahere Robinson took a pitchout and raced 90 yards for a touchdown.

When a squib kick hit a Summit up man, Mario Griffin recovered the loose ball and the Little Prexies were back on offense.

Eight plays later, Swartz scored on a 10-yard keeper. After the Knights lost the ball on downs at their 36, Swartz hooked up with Robinson on the next play for a 36-yard scoring pass.

Zakai Marshall recovered a Summit fumble on its first play from scrimmage, and Caleb Jackson hauled in a 5-yard pass from Swartz to put the Little Prexies in front 26-0 with 2 minutes, 11 seconds left in the first quarter.

Robinson, normally a receiver, has been playing tailback after the top two players at that position suffered injuries.

“That kind of exemplifies the athletic ability he has that he can move around the field and be a dynamic playmaker at any position,” Bosnic said.

The Washington front four did its part in the second quarter when Knights quarterback Camer Warrington-Curry completed a 53-yard pass to Paul Hines to the Washington 1.

Marshall, Steven Paterson, Zackary Doman and Gerald Comedy kept Summit out of the end zone and sacked Warrington-Curry at the 15 on fourth down to take over possession.

Four plays after Patterson’s fumble recovery in the third quarter, Swartz scored on a 1-yard burst to put the mercy rule in effect.

Summit is 0-3, 0-1 under new coach Joe Marek, but Marek is seeing progress.

“I’ve seen a ton of improvement,” said Marek, who took over for the retired Steve Sherer. “Tip your cap to Wash High. Everyone would want to be them. I told our kids to look what they do. Even when they stretch, everything is top of the line, and they’re ready to go and that’s what we need to do, get our focus right.”

Knights tailback Raymond Poellniz-Cutler ran for 75 yards, one touchdown and two conversion runs. He also played well at defensive back.

Said Marek: “Raymond is a great athlete, great kid, great leader. I love being around him, and I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do for the rest of the year.”

Washington gets back to conference play Friday at Brownsville. Summit will host another quality team, Burgettstown, on Saturday.

Tags: Summit Academy, Washington