Washington defense leads way in playoff win over South Allegheny

By: Adam Brewer
Friday, November 7, 2025 | 11:41 PM

Previous Next

No. 4 South Allegheny was looking to continue its magical run and reach the WPIAL semifinals for the first time since 1977.

But No. 5 Washington and its defense had other plans.

The Prexies were dominant defensively, scoring a pair of touchdowns on turnovers in the first half and riding that momentum to a 31-7 victory over the Gladiators in Class 2A quarterfinal action Friday night at Charleroi’s Myron Pottios Stadium.

“The kids did a great job tonight executing on both sides of the ball,” Washington coach Mike Bosnic said. “I’m happy with their overall effort. Our big-time players made the big plays when we needed them most, and that was the difference tonight.”

With the win, the Prexies (10-2) improved to 6-4 in the quarterfinals since 2014 and advanced to face top-seeded Seton LaSalle, a 42-7 winner over Mohawk, next Friday at a neutral site.

“That was an ugly game for us the first time around,” Bosnic said of Washington’s 27-14 loss to Seton LaSalle in Week 9. “We won the line of scrimmage tonight, and that’s something we have to do next week. You have to tackle well, be physical and bring the right mindset into these playoff games.”

Coming in, South Allegheny (10-2) owned one of the WPIAL’s top offenses, averaging 46.8 points. But an ineffective passing attack and four costly turnovers doomed the Gladiators early.

“We were just out of sync on offense tonight,” SA coach Brian Hanson said. “But you have to credit Coach Bosnic and their kids. They’re physical and know how to step up in the playoffs. We came into the game with some distractions and were thin in a few spots. Those turnovers killed us.”

South Allegheny’s leading rusher Joey Gamret did not play, but junior Derrick Pace filled in admirably, running for 123 yards on 15 carries.

“We didn’t have our starting tailback tonight, and that hurts any offense,” Hanson said. “But I thought Derrick ran really hard. He was really good between the tackles and has a bright future for us next season.”

Washington struck just three plays into the game when Blaise Naraskivitch returned an interception 22 yards for a touchdown with 10 minutes, 56 seconds left in the opening quarter.

SA fumbled on its next drive near midfield, recovered by Cayden Cook, but the Gladiators answered with an interception of their own as Drew Cook picked off a fourth-and-2 pass.

The Prexies doubled their lead early in the second quarter when Jamarie Walker scored on a 4-yard run, set up by a 40-yard completion from Tristan Reed to Ameer Nelsen on third-and-6.

The Gladiators finally got on the board when Pace broke free for a 46-yard run to the 4-yard line, setting up a touchdown by Marcel Boxley to cut it to 14-7 with 9:06 left in the half.

Washington responded with a 22-yard field goal by Tyler Crawford before delivering a backbreaker in the final minute of the half — Reed jumped a route for a 23-yard pick-six, putting the Prexies up 24-7 at intermission.

Though SA outgained Washington 160-158 in the first half, it couldn’t recover from the defensive scores.

Washington put the game away on the opening drive of the third quarter, marching 66 yards in six plays as Reed capped it with a 13-yard touchdown run. Earlier in the drive, Reed connected with Naraskivitch for a 33-yard gain.

“We have a lot of balance on offense,” Bosnic said. “We’ve spread the ball around all season, and that’s carried over to the playoffs. Defenses can’t key on one player — we have multiple guys who can make big plays.”

SA’s next possession chewed up five minutes but ended on downs at the 20-yard line. Neither team scored in the final quarter as Washington’s ground game ran out the clock.

The Prexies totaled 354 yards of offense, led by Jahvon Woods with 116 rushing yards on 10 carries. Reed threw for 86 yards and added 63 on the ground, and Cook chipped in 48 rushing yards.

SA’s offense was bottled up in the second half. Quarterback Alijah Cook completed eight passes for 51 yards, and Drew Cook rushed for 48 yards and caught three passes for 20.

“We’re almost there as a program — we just have to learn how to win those big moments,” Hanson said. “I’m proud of our guys. We had a lot of young players step up. We’ll miss this senior class, but we have a strong core coming back.”

South Allegheny’s last semifinal appearance came in 1977, when the Gladiators captured their only WPIAL football title by defeating Laurel. Washington, meanwhile, has seven district championships, the most recent in 2017.

Tags: South Allegheny, Washington