The Washington Demons football team gutted out a late-night 28-27 road win against the Keokuk Chiefs last night. The game started like it might be a shootout, with both teams scoring on their first two possessions. Tayven Stuart and Ethan Patterson had touchdown runs of three and two yards, respectively, but had them matched by TD passes from Chiefs sophomore quarterback Brenton Hoard.

The game stayed tied at 14 until the end of the first half, when Keokuk intercepted a Patterson pass and turned a short-field into a go-ahead Hoard TD run. The Demons would trail 21-14 for most of the third quarter and could have been down more, had Nick Dittrich not blocked a Chief field goal after a muffed Washington punt return gave Keokuk a short field.

Eventually, the Demons got some short fields of their own. A bad snap on a punt allowed Washington to drive only 35 yards for the tying score. And after DeShaun Westphal-Edwards reached the end zone from five yards out, the Demons recovered a botched squib kick by Keokuk, and Stuart capped the go-ahead TD drive with a 15-yard scamper. Keokuk did drive down the field on their final possession of the game, scoring on a fourth-down TD scramble from Hoard. But the Demon defense stood tall when the Chiefs went for a go-ahead two-point conversion, as Patterson batted away a pass.

Washington snaps its four-game losing streak and gets its first district win. The 3-4 Demons will host Fairfield next Friday night.