Washington, for the second time in its last three games, had its offense carry it to a lopsided win. The Pam Pack scored 45 points against North Lenoir three weeks ago. Then, this past week, it hung 67 — an unprecedented total for a Washington attack — on South Lenoir en route to its second win in the 2-A Eastern Carolina Conference.

It’s been the product of an offensive scheme change. Washington came into the season looking to spread opposing defenses. Now, though, it is finding success with the triple option.

It’s benefited Hykeem Ruffin the most. Friday marked his second game with over 300 yards rushing. He scored nine touchdowns in just those two outings. The senior has 27 scores and over 1,900 yards rushing on the season.

As sensational as Ruffin has been, though, the offensive success starts on the offensive line.

“They’re an aggressive group that plays together really well,” coach Jon Blank said. “When we think about a team, our offensive line is really a team within the team. They feed off of each other and support each other. They’re a good group.”

Cooperation has been the key to the offensive line working its way through the adjustments that come with changing offenses. It fits the personnel they have, though. The main challenge is remembering new plays and building consistency.

“It’s not been much of a challenge. It’s just a little bit of an adjustment,” senior Isaiah Bailey-Pope said. “We’ve been used to running this kind of offense. There’s an extra option, so consistency is key. We just keep doing what we’re doing.”

Junior Chase Ambrose added: “We change up the plays every week. We kind of have plays that come in and out. It’s kind of hard to read sometimes and remember them.”

The key to the triple option is that it allows Washington’s offensive line, which is often outmatched in the size department, to double team on blocks. From there, it’s up to senior quarterback Frederick Holscher to make the appropriate decision based on what he’s seeing from the opposing defensive front.

“What it does do is it allows us to get more people on less people,” Blank said. “It allows us to double team more because, with our reads, they’re leaving some guys unblocked, so the quarterback has to make the appropriate read. They’ve gotten very good with plays. … They just know what they’re supposed to do.”

Blank said he felt the offensive line hit its stride early in the season. The 36-32 win at Northside — Washington’s first of the season — was the first time that unit took a game over.

“In that game, I just finally saw us all get aggressive,” senior Logan Craft said. “We worked together as a team. We cared about and took care of our brothers back there.”

New offensive coordinator Perry Owens is responsible for much of the play calling that has led to some of the best offensive outings in Washington history. When it comes to the offensive line, though, offensive line coach Kevin Chapman can be credited with developing the level of consistency seen up front.

“This year, having coach Chapman has been a huge step forward for us,” junior Logan Nichols said. “It’ll be fourth quarter and we’ll be whooping people. Chapman whooped our tails over the summer.”

Even as successful as the triple option has been, it’s still a work in progress and the Pam Pack is adding wrinkles each week. Every player understands the system a little better each week, and each week, Washington tosses something else in that may not have been on the previous game’s tape.

The Pam Pack is off this week. The goal is to be as finely tuned across the board as it has been all year. Washington will need to be firing on all cylinders when it hosts a one-loss Kinston team on Oct. 27.