Arriving at the third round of the playoffs for the second straight season, and only the second time since 1956, the No. 3 seeded Pam Pack punched the clock and went to work on a 44-6 victory over No. 2 Currituck last Friday to capture its first road playoff win of the postseason and a school-record 12th victory.
“I was really impressed with their focus,” Washington coach Sport Sawyer said. “With it being Thanksgiving weekend and the weather not being that good they kept their focus. I was impressed. It was a good job by the guys.”
With the win, Washington (12-2) advanced to tonight’s East Regional round of the playoffs where it will meet No. 1 seed T.W. Andrews on the road at 7:30 p.m.
Throughout the postseason the Pam Pack has strung together moments of dominance, but against Currituck Washington delivered a full four quarters of worth of perfection.
The trio of running backs Markel Spencer, Stevie Green and Trey Spruill each broke the 100-yard mark, while the defense kept Currituck from reaching the end zone.
“I thought offensively we did a good job of running the ball. We had over 500 yards rushing. The guys blocked well and we ran the ball really hard,” Sawyer said. “Defensively, (Currituck) had been scoring points and moving the ball and our defense was all over the field. We got pressure on the quarterback. He was never able to get into a rhythm.”
Green and Spruill led the Pack attack with 160 rushing yards each, while Green reached the end zone twice. Spencer tallied 118 yards and two scores, while Rakwuan Sattherwaitte and QB Brodie West both ran for touchdowns.
The running game is going to be a critical factor for both teams tonight as there will be a total of four 1,000-yard rushers on the field.
While Washington will strike behind the tandem of Spruill (1,838 yards, 16 TDs) and Green (1,514 yards, 15 TDs), the Red Raiders will counter with its dynamic duo of seniors Marquell Cartwright (2,327 yards, 35 TDs) and Rontel Wilkes (1,386 yards, 25 TDs).
“T.W. Andrews is a good football team. They run wing-T under center and (Cartwright) and (Wilkes) both run really well,” Sawyer said. “They’re quarterback is really good and makes solid decisions, but (Cartwright) is the main threat.”
Red Raiders QB Lamar Raynard has thrown for nearly 2,000 yards this season and defensive coordinator Jon Blank said that  he and the rest of the offense will not fly under the radar.
“They’re well rounded,” Blank said. “(Cartwright) has the most yards, but they are all really good players.”
Defensively, T.W. Andrews runs a 3-5 scheme that is capable of causing a lot of confusion. With that in mind, Sawyer said the play of the offensive line will be a big factor tonight.
“They’re going to put eight people in the box and send people from all angles,” Sawyer said. “Picking that up will be the challenge we face offensively.”
With Washington being one game away from its first state championship appearance since 1956, Sawyer said every aspect of the game will be magnified.
“I think special teams will play a big role. They will need to get good field position for the offense and make solid plays,” Sawyer said. “Offensively, we need to slow down their rush, and defensively we need to keep their ground game in check.”