When coach Greg Wallace came to Washington School last year, he brought a wide-open scheme.
Things didn’t quite work out as well as he had hoped in the first year, but in the first game of the 2020 season he found a way to win at Centreville Friday night 43-40 with more than 350 yards rushing.
“They were playing a nickel defense all night with three down linemen,” he said. “We just ran it down their throats.”
The running game came from the efforts of an offense line that saw a freshman starter in Harris Garcia playing the game of his life.
“He played a game that I don’t think he even knew he could play,” Wallace said.
Garcia wasn’t the only stand out player on the evening.
Patrick Spencer played every play on offense and defense and Wallace said, “he maybe missed one assignment the entire night.”
Wallace said a great week of practice and hard work in the preseason led to the win.
“The kids have done a lot of extra conditioning. They want to win,” Wallace said. “We are stronger and better than we were.
“We’re getting better at what we do.”
The Washington School Generals were down 28-13 at the half before storming back to take the lead in the second half.
While the line was blocking well, Briggs Stapleton was opening holes for running back Kell Hodges and quarterback Joseph Smith all night long.
The Generals’ road victory comes against a team with great championship pedigree.
Centreville’s longtime coach is Bill Hurst who has 401 wins in his illustrious career.Hurst has won state championships at the Class A, AA and AA level of MAIS, winning a total of nine titles, the first one in 1976 and the last in 2014.
A year after falling to St. Joseph Catholic School in the MAIS Class 2A state championship, the Centreville Academy Tigers finished last season with a 5-7 record.
