By Mike Myers, Sports Writer
BICKNELL — Halfback Joe McCormick topped the 1,000 yard mark for the season and the Hatchet defense shut down the potent North Knox running attack as Washington ended the high school football regular season with a 27-6 win over North Knox at Warrior Stadium on Friday.
Washington (5-4) finished the regular season with a winning record for the third consecutive season under coach Kelly Brashear with the win over North Knox (5-4).
McCormick led a Washington rushing game that rolled up 216 yards on the ground. Casey Stafford added 46 yards on six carries and added a 16-yard pass reception from quarterback Kurtis Anthony.
Stafford and McCormick were also a big part of the Hatchet defense which nearly pitched a shutout and stymied the Warriors throughout the evening.
The win sends Washington into postseason play on a winning note. A year after the Hatchets won eight games and reached the sectional title game, Washington won five regular season games despite facing plenty of adversity.
“We really have battled a lot of adversity, No. 1 with injuries. We’ve had so many different kinds of injuries — knee problems, concussions, neck problems. It seems like we keep getting younger each week,” said Brashear. “We’ve battled through that, and our younger kids have been getting a baptism under fire. We’re playing a lot of sophomores at the varsity level. Not many good teams can say that. Our young kids have really grown up this year.”
Anthony led the Hatchets on three first half scoring drives, including the game’s initial possession. Starting at their own 23, the Hatchets went 77 yards in eight plays – all on the ground — a drive which was also helped by a North Knox personal foul.
McCormick, who finished the first half with 99 yards on 10 carries on night when the junior tallied 109 yards on 15 carries, accounted for 44 of those yards on the first drive — including a pair of long runs —though it was an Anthony quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal from the Warrior one which brought WHS its first touchdown. Tanner Fritschle’s extra point put WHS up 7-0 just 4:33 into the game.
North Knox moved the ball at will early in its first possession, but the Hatchet defense stiffened and stopped the Warriors on downs deep in Hatchet territory. After that possession, the Hatchet defense righted itself and stopped the Warriors, who gained 28 of their first half total of 42 yards in that first drive. After that first drive, Washington was able to keep the Warriors’ top rushing threat, halfback Derek Chambers, bottled up in the backfield for the most part.
The Hatchets stopped North Knox again on downs and forced two Warrior punts the rest of the way in the first half.
The defensive effort the Hatchets of coordinator Chris Derr put forth was one of the best Chambers and the Warriors have faced this season. Chambers finished the game with just 34 yards rushing and the Warriors barely topped the 100-yard mark on offense with 104 yards.
“It wasn’t a mind-bending defensive scheme that we had to have this week the way that they run right at you,” said Brashear. “It didn’t take a whole lot of blitzing, it took a lot of playing tough, staying low, and keeping their head up. We played outstanding defensively.”
Washington gained 201 yards on the ground in the first half and went to the air sparingly, but it was an Anthony pass to Dylan Ervin early in the second quarter that resulted in the Hatchets’ second score. The play covered 30 yards and, coupled with Fritschle’s point after, staked WHS to a 14-0 lead 9:51 before halftime.
Fritschle did the honors later in the half after a Hatchet drive stalled at the NK 10 with a 27-yard field goal, and that 17-0 lead would go with the Hatchets into the locker room at halftime.
The third quarter was marred by penalties and fumbles, with both teams having trouble sustaining drives. The highlight of the quarter for WHS came late in the period when punter Tanner Fritschle, facing a fourth down and 20 from his own 36, ran 25 yards for a first down.
Fristchle was a special teams standout for Washington despite having his first punt of the contest blocked. Fritschle banged a pair of kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks and added three nice punts to push the Warriors deep into their own territory.
The junior then added a 40-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter, giving WHS a 20-0 lead.
Ervin added his second touchdown of the game, this time on a 30-yard interception return of a Dylan Caballero pass on the first play from scrimmage following Fritschle’s field goal. Fritschle added the extra point for a 27-0 Hatchet lead with 5:24 remaining.
Chambers finally broke loose on the ensuing Hatchet kickoff, taking the return deep into WHS territory at the Hatchet 19. On the next play, Sam Conrad ran into the end zone, though Chris Sargent’s extra point was blocked.
Washington will open Sectional 24 play at Princeton on Friday.
