Experienced line, young skill players have Washington headed in right direction

By: Jonathan Bombulie
Sunday, August 18, 2024 | 6:01 AM

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Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Friday. Due to production schedule conflicts, the Charleroi preview will be published later in the week.

When coach Mike Bosnic looks down the Washington roster, he sees the names of a handful of returning linemen with size and experience capable of moving people against their will.

What he doesn’t see is the name of a receiver who has caught a pass in a varsity game.

Add that up and Bosnic is confident Washington will emerge as one of the top Class 2A teams in the WPIAL. He’s just not sure when.

“I’m really excited about where we’re heading,” Bosnic said. “We feel we do have some good guys coming back up front. I think it’s going to take us some time. We have a special group of young guys at the skill positions, but right now, coming into the season, we don’t have a receiver who has caught a pass coming back. I think we’re going to be really good at some point. I just don’t know how long it’s going to take.”

The returning crew of lineman is led by 6-foot-3, 250-pound junior guard Joe Wilson, an all-conference pick last year. He is joined by 6-5 junior tackle Jayden Nemeth, 6-3 senior center Kar-Zell Daugherty and senior guard Alex Green.

Quarterback Tristan Reed, a 6-4 junior, is back after throwing for 1,381 yards and 15 touchdowns last season. Eddie Lewis, the team’s leading rusher, also returns.

Junior Jahvon Woods, the team’s leading tackler last season, and junior Cayden Cook are back to anchor the linebacking corps.

All in all, it’s a talented group of returning starters that should be able to take an 11-win season and a trip to the WPIAL semifinals last season and build on it.

“We feel good,” Bosnic said. “I always think we can compete with anybody. It’s just a matter of staying focused and staying on track.”

It’s also easy to see why Bosnic has a little bit of trepidation about his skill positions, at least at the start of the season.

The Little Prexies lost big-time playmakers Ruben Gordon, Zxavian Willis and Elijah Thomas to graduation. They were the kind of players who could score from any spot on the field.

The cast of skill players replacing them is talented but young. Keep an eye on junior quarterback Caleb Patton, sophomore running back Trenton Grooms, junior receiver Tyler Crawford and sophomore receiver Isaiah Watson.

“I think we have a really good group of young guys,” Bosnic said. “It’s just hard to predict what their rate of maturity will be. I’m very encouraged with what I see and the way they’re working. Just cautiously optimistic.”

If Washington’s young players need a few weeks to get their feet under them, the schedule won’t make it easy for them.

Rival McGuffey moved up to Class 3A, but the Highlanders are still on Washington’s schedule for a nonconference season opener. Matchups with Class 2A favorite Steel Valley and perennially strong Union follow. Later in the season, Washington meets powerful South Park in another nonconference test.

“I think our schedule is pretty brutal,” Bosnic said. “At this level, it’s just a matter of staying healthy and getting better.”

Washington

Coach: Mike Bosnic

2023 record: 11-2, 5-1 in Class 2A Century Conference

All-time record: 742-380-56

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.23 at McGuffey, 7

8.30 at Steel Valley, 7

9.6 Union, 7

9.13 Waynesburg*, 7

9.20 at Sto-Rox*, 7

9.27 South Park, 7

10.4 at Keystone Oaks*, 7

10.11 Charleroi*, 7

10.18 at Carlynton*, 7

10.25 Seton LaSalle*, 7

* Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Tristan Reed

75-141, 1,381 yards, 15 TDs

Rushing: Eddie Lewis

161-989 yards, 15 TDs

Receiving: Ruben Gordon*

29-550 yards, 6 TDs

* Graduated

FAST FACTS

• Washington started last season 8-0 before losing once in the regular season to Keystone Oaks and in the WPIAL semifinals to eventual champion Beaver Falls.

• Washington beat rival McGuffey twice in three weeks last season, winning the regular season finale and in the WPIAL quarterfinals.

• Washington is fourth in all-time wins among active WPIAL programs with 742, behind only Aliquippa (783), Jeannette (777) and New Castle (756).

• Washington has won seven WPIAL championships, its most recent in 2017 and its first a century earlier in 1917.

Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.

Tags: Washington