Hounds show some metal in loss to Washington

WASHINGTON – The Fort Madison Bloodhounds continue to see sparks of something that could ignite in the future, but it wasn’t to be Friday night as the Hounds fell 42-15 on the road at Washington.
The Fort Madison coaching staff was decked out in black t-shirts with an orange “80” on the front in memory of Washington’s Carson Ryan, who died last month as a result of a tragic hunting accident. The Demons carried his jersey out to the captain’s meeting at midfield prior to the game.
The Class 3A District 4 matchup was one of the Hounds' more competitive matchups of the year despite the Demons scoring on their first play from scrimmage. Senior Kael Williams stretched the Hound defense on 1st and 10 from the Washington 43 and raced 57 yards down the right sideline for a quick score and a 7-0 lead.
Fort Madison smacked back on its first possession running eight plays to the Demon 47 before Hound QB Stefan Berlett through an errant ball into the right secondary that was picked off on a diving catch by the Demons' Easton Rugg.
The Demons’ Liam Roberts then took the next handoff at the 30 and ran 70 yards for a score. Fortunately for the Hounds, that play was called back on a holding penalty. Washington would get penalized four more times in the series and the Hounds seemed to have things bottled up when Ren Watson sacked Willaims for a six-yard loss on 3rd and 10, but Watson was whistled for unnecessary roughness and the Demons got 15 yards and an automatic first down at the 15. Three plays later Williams went in again for a 15-0 lead.
Fort Madison would then put together their longest, most sustained drive of the year going 70 yards on 18 plays with Eric Cornelis going in from the 1-yard line on a halfback sweep play out of the two-back set. Sophomore Mo Thacher had 26 yards on seven carries in the series.
Washington would score again four plays later. Williams carried the load with 50 yards on just two carries before senior Grant Whisler went in from the 1. The Hounds would go four and out  punting to the Washington 39. The Demons would score three plays later on a 56-yard scamper around the left side by Williams to set a 28-7 halftime lead.
Fort Madison took the third quarter kick to the Demons' 45, but Berlett was whistled for being beyond the line of scrimmage before letting go with a pass on 3rd and 9 that would have converted the first down. The loss of down forced a punt and Washington would score again, this time through the air with Williams finding Roberts for a 50-yard score up the middle seam between a couple Hound defenders for a 35-7 lead.
Washington would get another touchdown in the fourth quarter before Fort Madison rounded out the scoring with a Thacher run from the five on a 9-play 47-yard drive and the running clock active.

The Hounds would recover a late fumble by Williams at the Demon 22 with 1:20 left, but they wouldn’t be able to get the ball over the line before turning the ball over on downs. Washington would run the clock out from there.
The Hounds will wrap up the season Friday night with a home finale against Class 3A No. 3 Solon. Doherty said the last game will be a giant of an opponent, but also a chance for his young squad to leave it all on their own home field.
He told the Hounds after the game that the effort they showed Friday night is something that programs are built on.
“We gotta keep this thing going because, with effort like that, once we start putting things together we’re gonna have it,” Doherty said.
“Washington’s obviously a good football team and the two games that we've decided to play our football - with effort, attitude, and toughness, we've had some success, and that was Keokuk and tonight. It’s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”
He said he didn’t like using youth as an excuse, but he hopes the kids are learning late in the season to do the right things at the right times and he saw a little of that in Friday's loss.
“If they continue to do the right things in the off seasons, and things like that, this experience will pay off and that's what we told them in our huddle afterwards,” he said. “You don't have to like the outcome right now, we just need to understand the process and the processes in place.”
He said this year reminded him a lot of last year in that it took the Hounds until the final two or three weeks to start having confidence in their ability to play.
“We started playing decent ball at the end of the year and you hope that's the case here. You hope that this is going to carry over. I know we've got a giant this week. But you know what, you go out and play football  - play hard and let things play out.”