Washington looking to bounce back after tough 2025 season

CHARLES TOWN - Everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong for the Washington football program in 2025. With that season now behind them, one that saw significant injuries rear their ugly head, the Patriots are looking to start fresh and put together a solid season. Coach Terry Rea believes that if healthy and things go their way a little more, his team is capable of big things. "Last year, it didn't go the way we wanted it to go. Last year was a Catch-22 year - what could go wrong, went wrong," Rea said. "We've got a good group of kids. We've got 70 kids out for football this year. We're up about 20 kids from last year. It feels like it did two years ago, not last year." One of the biggest injuries last year was to running back Allen Casey, who suffered a torn ACL in the second game of the season. Casey is one of the players that made Washington's offense go, and Rea said he is full healthy and ready for his senior season. "Allen's back from injury. He's back to 100%," Rea said. "When we lost him last year, we lost a little bit on offense, and we lost a little bit on defense. When we need that big play, we need that extra yard, Allen's that kid you want to have out there. With him getting hurt last year, we missed that pretty much through the rest of the season." Going around the offense, Neil Powell has the starting job at quarterback. A junior this season, Powell saw time in 2025 as last year's starter, Kyle Athey, missed some time due to injury. Besides Casey, the running back group will also feature junior Codie Titus, who saw time last season. The wide receiver group will be led by senior Phillip Shields and also include Avorie Brown, Ja'Kel Watkins, Maximus Gustines, Brayden Zanella and first-year player Bryce Ault. Shields is one of the Patriots' best athletes on offense. Besides lining up at receiver, he also was one of the leaders rushers last season, doing a little bit of everything. The offensive line is one of Washington's biggest strengths this season, as it returns several starters. Those who will be blocking up front include Kaiden Jones, who's moving over to center from left tackle, Vincent Arnicar, Colten Shillingburg, Matthew Gordillo and Kam Turner. Several of the same names will be on the defensive side, as well. Up front, the defensive line rotation will consist of Arnicar, Gordillo, Turner, Watkins, Malik Bratton and Jonathan Mitchell. One of the strongest spots will be linebacker, a position Rea said he's "happy" about, with two of the best in the area in Casey and Titus, who was an all-Eastern Panhandle Athletic Conference selection last season. On the back end, the secondary will feature a mix of returning and new players. Those expected to be impact players include Shields, Brown, Brayden Zanella and Gustines at cornerback, Blaise Cantley at strong safety, Chase Miller, who transferred from Jefferson, at the roam (weak safety) position and Powell at free safety. The Patriots, who finished 3-8 last year, start the season at home against Woodrow Wilson on Aug. 28, before hitting the road for three straight away games against Hedgesville, University and Bishop Connell, Virginia. The final six games included home contests against Spring Mills, South Hagerstown, Maryland, Martinsburg and Hampshire and away games against Musselman and Jefferson.