Washington’s Ryan Reighard (No. 1) throws a stiff arm during Friday’s regional showdown with the Solon Spartans. Reighard collected 231 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns, both career highs, in a 28-14 victory over Solon. Photo courtesy of Susan Harshman/Washington Demon Football.

Over the last 25 years, the No. 11 Washington Demon football team (4-1 overall; 2-0 Class 3A District 5) has held a distinct advantage over one of their Southeast Conference rivals. Since 1990, the Demons have played the Fort Madison Bloodhounds (1-4 overall; 0-3 Class 3A District 5) 20 times on the gridiron, and Washington has been victorious 19 of those games. In recent history, the Demons have won the last 11 by an average margin of 34 points per game.

On the surface, this season’s meeting appears to be a mismatch as well. Washington has won four straight football games, including a 28-14 triumph last Friday versus the Solon Spartans. Fort Madison has lost four of their five contests this season with their lone win being a 5-3 victory against the Burlington Grayhounds in week two.

First year head coach of the Bloodhounds Andrew Mitchell says despite their recent struggles against Washington, he expects a competitive effort from his team, “I expect us to play for four quarters and I am hoping for a win.” Mitchell said, “The key to beat them is you can’t worry about what has happened in the past. I really don’t care what the record has been, these are new kids with a new attitude. We understand we have our hands full with this Washington team because they are pretty darn good.”

The Bloodhounds have multiple challenges heading into tonight’s meeting, including how to slow down the emergence of sophomore quarterback Ryan Reighard. In his fifth varsity start, Reighard put up career highs in rushing yards (231) and rushing touchdowns (3) in the Demons’ week five victory over Solon. The Demon defense has been suffocating opposing offenses as well, allowing an average of only 8.25 points during their four game winning streak.

Kickoff of tonight’s week six district clash between the Demons and Bloodhounds is set for 7:30 p.m. Live play-by-play coverage from Jim Youel Field in Fort Madison begins with the Washington Hy-Vee Pregame Show at 7 p.m. on FM 106.1 and KCIIRadio.com.