A new season of Washington Demon football is fast approaching, and there will be a new leader for the team this fall. Former assistant coach Kelly Williams was hired this past year to become the program’s head coach.

A alumnus of the program and long-time assistant, Williams tells KCII Sports that he couldn’t be more excited about the chance to captain the Washington ship.

“I’m born and raised here in Washington,” Williams says, “I played here at Case Field, I’ve gotten ready in the same locker room that our players will be getting ready in, [and] I’ve walked down the hallways [of the high school] just like our student-athletes have. I’m just excited to give our kids some excitement and something consistent.”

Most of the coaching staff remains the same for the Demons from last season, with assistants including Nic Williams, Lane Ranck, Shannon Rugg, Jacob Garrett, Jared George, Eric Bucholtz, Tyler Rees, Kurt Levetzow, Justin Chambers and Willie Stone. Kelly Williams believes that stability will help their players develop more.

“Since I’ve graduated,” Williams says, “there’s been seven head coaches at Washington. On average, that’s [every] three to four years that they’ve had a new head coach. So I’m looking to be consistent for our players.”

Williams is looking to elevate the program back to its winning ways after a 2-7 season in 2023. Washington will have their annual preseason scrimmage tonight at Muscatine, with the first game of the season next Friday evening against Oskaloosa.

You can hear Demon football on KCII all season long, beginning next Friday with the homeGIRL Realty Pregame Show at 7 p.m. on 106.1 FM and streaming on KCIIradio.com and the KCII1 app.