The Washington Demons ended the 2023 football season by falling at home to Fort Madison 21-7 last night. The night started perfectly for Washington, as senior Alec Ulin capped a six-play, 75-yard opening drive with a touchdown run to give the Demons the initial lead, and the defense forced a fumble on Fort Madison’s opening possession.

But after a tipped ball was intercepted by the Bloodhounds, they drove down the field and got the tying TD on a five-yard run from quarterback Marcus Guzman. From there, Fort Madison controlled the game by dominating time of possession, limiting Washington to four more possessions the rest of the night.

The ‘Hounds got a touchdown run from Hayden Segoviano to take a 14-7 lead into halftime, then used a nine-minute drive to open the third quarter and get another rushing score for Guzman, building a lead they would never relinquish.

The Demons were led on offense by sophomore running back Kael Williams, who had nine carries for 42 yards. Ulin carried the ball five times for 41 yards and was one of the leading tacklers for the defense. Despite a season-ending defeat, Washington head coach Nick Ehret told KCII Sports after the game that he had nothing but pride in his team.

“They’re a great group of kids,” Ehret said. “Our seniors are a great group [and] great leaders for us. They’re very close. They hang out together and they like being around each other, and that’s what you want. It makes coming to work every day, especially if you’re struggling in the win-loss column, it still makes coming to work fun and a joy to be around. We got great kids. They played hard for nine weeks, and I’m going to miss them.”

Washington finishes the season with a record of 2-7. The Demons will lose nine seniors to graduation, including Ulin, Luke Beenblossom, Casen Evans, Lukus Rickey, Angel Mata, Caleb Zieglowsky, Diego Allyon, Chase Greiner and Nic Dittrich.