Washington quarterback Logan McDole hands the ball off to Kael Williams for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Burlington on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023. (Hunter Moeller/The Union)
Washington held a press conference last week to kick off the fall sports season.
The Demons had players and coaches from football, volleyball and cross country speak to the media about the upcoming season.
Washington Football is looking to take a leap forward this season after finishing 2-7 last year, and the Demons are eager to show off their hard work.
“It was really exciting to be back out there with the guys,” said Washington quarterback Logan McDole. “Not everyone plays all different sports. It’s just a great group of people. We’re having fun and looking forward to hitting.”
The Demons have a great opportunity to make a splash with some of their talented players returning.
“It’s really exciting, we’re going to be really good,” said Mason Morgan, the best receiver of the 2023 season. “Most of us are coming back.”
“We’ve developed great chemistry,” said running back Kael Williams. “A lot of us are friends outside of sports, so it’s just fun to be together again.”
Washington will be in action for the first time on Friday when it faces Muscatine. The Demons’ first game of the season is Friday, August 30, against Oskaloosa.
Washington Volleyball is in a similar boat. The Demons have almost all of the starters back from their 2023-24 squad, which finished 17-18. Many players from the junior years are now in the senior years.
“I think all the hard work everyone has put in during the offseason is really paying off,” Leighton Messinger said. “Everyone is so encouraging and we support each other.”
For the returning core, the chemistry feels different.
“I’m really excited,” said Ella Greiner. “To be honest, the chemistry feels even better this year than last year.”
“I think the season is going to be great,” said Lauren Hinrichsen. “We have great team chemistry and I think this season is going to be very entertaining.”
Meanwhile, Washington is trying to continue its winning streak on both sides.
Washington’s Leighton Messinger sneaks a ball past a Fort Madison blocker on Aug. 29, 2023. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)
Both the Demon Boys and the Demon Girls want to win the Southeast Conference crown again.
On the boys side, the Demons will try to return to state as a team for the second year in a row.
“I’m excited,” said Andrew Rees of Washington. “We definitely lost a lot of top seed, but we’re still going to be pretty good this year. We’re going to compete for conference and state.”
The Washington girls sent a runner to state last year, but narrowly missed qualifying as a team by two points. They hope to make it through this time.
Lauren Horak (left) and Iris Dahl (right) of Washington race to the finish line in Fairfield on Sept. 7, 2023. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)
“What happened last year just drives us forward,” Lauren Horak said. “We have the same good group of girls, a lot of seniors, and we really want it.”
“I play softball in the spring and summer, so I’ve kind of juggled those two sports, and when softball is over, we’re full-on cross country,” Kendall Hinrichsen said. “I know a lot of the girls on the team have been modeling a lot this season, so we’re all where we want to be.”
Ben Carthey (68) of Mt. Pleasant and Tyler Alderton (117) of Washington run side by side at the Demons’ home cross country meet on September 26, 2023. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)
