Washington passes test, lands in final

After cruising to doubledigit margins of victory in each of their first 11 games, the Washington Prexies finally ran into a worthy challenger Friday night.

Washington’s high-powered offense sputtered in the second half, but the defense did just enough to hold on for a sloppy, 19-14 win against Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic (10-3) in a WPIAL Class 2A semifinal at Moon High School. The Prexies (12-0) move on to face Steel Valley next Saturday in the WPIAL championship at Robert Morris University.

“Not our best game, but we’re still alive,” Washington coach Mike Bosnic said. “The kids really wanted this, and they weren’t going to be denied.”

Prexies running back Nick Welsh said it felt good to fight through adversity for the first time all season and come out on top.

“We were in a game this time, for sure,” Welsh said. “It was ugly, it was very ugly. But we pulled through, and we’re going to the ‘ship.’”

Welsh entered the game as the second-leading rusher in the WPIAL, and, despite fumbling twice, didn’t disappoint.

The junior tailback wasted no time getting started, either, on a chilly November night.

After Washington’s defense forced a punt on North Catholic’s first drive, Welsh rumbled 50 yards down the right sideline on the Prexies’ first play from scrimmage. That set up a spectacular 15yard touchdown catch on fourth down by Dan Walker on a great throw from Zack Swartz. The extra point, however, was no good.

The Trojans responded with a fourth-down touchdown pass of their own from Zack Rocco to Ryan Maziarz, and their extra point was successful to give them a 7-6 lead. But it didn’t take long for Welsh and Washington to respond.

On the first play of the ensuing drive, Welsh bounced a run outside and scampered 43 yards down the sideline. Only an illegal horse-collar tackle momentarily saved a touchdown, but two plays later Welsh sprinted into the end zone from 14 yards. The 2-point conversion failed, but the Prexies took a 12-7 lead into the half.

Facing a third-and-17 early in the third quarter, Washington gave an endaround handoff to Isaiah Schoonmaker. The senior wide receiver did his best Welsh impression, racing 61 yards down the sideline for a game-breaking touchdown run and a 19-7 lead.

Schoonmaker broke another long run early in the fourth quarter, but a facemask penalty brought the ball back inside Washington’s 20. Swartz mishandled a snap, and Rocco recovered in the end zone for a touchdown, cutting the Prexies’ lead to 19-14.

Welsh’s second fumble of the game — the fifth turnover by Washington and fourth in a row — gave North Catholic a chance to drive for a go-ahead touchdown. But the Prexie’ defense forced a punt, and the offense ran the clock out to clinch the win.

First-year Trojans coach Patrick Shea stayed positive after the tough loss.

“I said to the kids, this doesn’t take anything away from their 10 wins,” O’Shea said. “... I thought it was a real successful season with the 10 wins and the caliber of kids we’re trying to have here.”

Meanwhile, Bosnic shifted his focus to another tough matchup next week in the WPIAL Class 2A championship against reigning PIAA champion Steel Valley.

“It doesn’t matter [who we play],” Bosnic said. “We can’t play like we did tonight.”