Washington took a giant step toward the District Championship last Thursday night with a 21-14 come-from-behind victory at Marlow before a packed house.

The Warriors are now 4-0 in league play and 6-1 overall.

Going into the contest, head coach Brad Beller figured his club would have to be very balanced between the pass and the run to knock off the then undefeated Outlaws.

As it turned out, The Warriors were able to control the line of scrimmage to rush 49 times for 313 yards and a pair of touchdowns while limiting the vaunted Outlaw rushing attack to 109 yards on 25 attempts.

“I thought that was a very successful night as good as they are at running the football,” Beller said.

“Early on we found out we could run the ball,” the coach continued.

That paved the way for sophomore Josiah Dickerson and senior Javen Hall to have big nights toting the mail.

Dickerson got the lions’ share of carries with 29 picking up 232 yards on the ground including a  six yard run to open the Washington scoring in the second period.

Hall gained 77 yards on seven carries.

“We controlled the game on the front line, controlling the clock and the whole tempo of the game the way we rushed the ball,” he confirmed.

Beller was quick to give credit to his offensive line, his tight ends and wide receivers.

“We were very physical, very dominant,” he confirmed.

Beller was speaking of the play of Kingston Stringer, Trip Wilson, Evan Painter, Chance Phillips, Gunnar Baker, Sam Cantrell, tight ends Hunter Sanders and Case Alexander.

“The fact that we could run as well as we did was a little surprising,” he said.

On the defensive side of the ball, Beller was pleased with the play of his defensive front.

“Our defensive linemen didn’t get a lot of tackles,” Beller confirmed. “Nothing about Lane Taylor’s stats are going to wow you. But no one had any bigger impact on the game than Lane,” Beller praised of his senior nose tackle.

“Ricky Ramirez, Hunter Sanders, Henry Mann, Blake Heiliger, Case Alexander, Jaron Gordon all played great. We knew we had to load up (the box) to stop the run. Those guys did an unbelievable job of taking away their run game.

“That was a big time atmosphere,” he said. “We had the same type atmosphere at Sulphur earlier and had a bunch of turnovers.”

Next game

Lexington is scheduled to play Washington for the 2025 homecoming tilt at Reed Field Thursday at 7 p.m.

Beller said the Bulldogs are led by senior quarterback Cadyn Krueger running their spread offense.

“He’s a big time play maker for them,” Beller said. “They go as he goes.”

Beller said the Bulldogs, who operate out of a 3-4 on defense have some good ball players. Their depth has been a concern.

“We have to continue to build momentum from the previous five weeks,” Beller said. “Last week’s game has got to be a spring board. We have to develop some depth as we go through the finals stretch.”

Warrior notes:

Washington Head Coach Brad Beller nominated Josiah Dickerson as the Offensive Player of the Week for his 232 yards rushing on 29 carries that included a touchdown.

Sam Cantrell got the nod in the Offensive Line grading out at 95 percent. “He played unbelievable,” the coach said.

Ricky Ramirez was the nominee in the Defensive Line making five tackles including two for a loss.

Beller nominated Case Alexander as the Defensive Player of the Week. He had a team high eight stops and one tackle for a loss.