It’s Week Eight of the high school football season, and the Washington Demons will be facing one of the top teams in the state tonight when they hit the road to face Mount Vernon in a game you can hear on KCII. Washington is looking to bounce back from a shutout loss at home to Davenport Assumption last week that dropped the Demons to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in district play.

Washington has been able to lean on its offensive ground game of late. Sophomore running back Kael Williams is averaging over five yards per carry and has almost 480 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. Quarterback Logan McDole is coming off one of his most efficient games of the season last week, while fellow junior Mason Morgan will look to continue creating big plays, as the receiver is currently averaging almost 18 yards per catch.

The Demon defense will lean on seniors Casen Evans, Alec Ulin and Chase Greiner, who lead the team in tackles. Washington head coach Nick Ehret tells KCII Sports those veteran players have been key leaders among a group of mostly first-time starters.

“They’re probably three of our most physical guys,” Ehret says. “They tackle well, they take on blocks well [and] they’ve got a nose for the football. Those three have done a tremendous job for us all year. They’re three of our better football players that we’ve just got to try to scheme up to get them around the football every play.”

The Demons will be trying to slow down a Mount Vernon team that reached the Class 3A state championship game last season and is currently ranked fifth in the state according to the Associated Press. The Mustangs are unbeaten in 3A District 4 and are 6-1 overall, thanks largely to senior quarterback Joey Rhomberg throwing for over 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns, as well as a stout defense that gives up only 199 total yards and 11 points per contest.

Washington won their last two meetings with Mount Vernon in 2010 and 2011. You can hear all the action from First Street Field when the Demons meet the Mustangs this evening on 106.1 FM KCII and streaming on KCIIradio.com and the KCII app. Pregame coverage starts at 6:45.