What We Saw: Keenan 44, Fox Creek 14

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>COLUMBIA |</strong> Quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360203' first='Desmond' last='Washington']</strong> and his Keenan teammates are playing for something bigger than just football.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Before the season, the Raiders were hit with the tragic loss of teammate Julian Keel over the summer and a coaching change.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The senior leadership from Washington to lead the offense and inspired play by the seniors on defense kept the team focused on the season. His three touchdown passes and 301 total yards in the 44-14 win over Fox Creek Friday put &nbsp;Keenan back in the middle of a crowded Region IV-3A title race.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We are playing for something,” interim head coach Jarrett Neely said. “Not just football and how many touchdowns you can score or how many points you can score. But we are playing for somebody that we lost this summer and we are going to continue to keep improving every single week.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1422608' first='Hunter' last='O'Neal']</strong> led the running game in the first half. His two second-quarter touchdown runs of 1 and 15 yards followed by a well-timed 2-point conversion pass by Washington to a heavily covered <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578660' first='Tyheim' last='McNeil']</strong> put the Raiders ahead 14-0 at halftime.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another senior McNeil got into the scoring act for Keenan in the second half. <strong>Nykeim McNeal</strong> had a 4-yard touchdown run and caught a 52-yard touchdown pass from Washington.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McNeal was also part of a senior-laden secondary which mostly limited the big plays from Fox Creek's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1523586' first='Devonta' last='Holmes']</strong>. He had initial success running out of the Wildcat and also returned a kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the most part, he and<strong> Jayden Bledsoe </strong>were slowed down as Keenan adjusted upfront led by linebacker <strong>Ty'quez Taylor</strong> and defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1253913' first='Titus' last='Bowman']</strong> (pictured number 32) and <strong>Warren Bailey</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With Fox Creek quarterback <strong>Nate Owens</strong> (pictured right) getting pressured, the senior-laden secondary of <strong>Corey Williams</strong>, <strong>Gary Gowens &nbsp;</strong>and <strong>Jaziah Maia</strong> stayed close with the wide receivers. Outside of a 52-yard touchdown pass by Owens to <strong>Mekhi Quiller</strong>, the Predators' offense did not venture one time inside the opposing 20-yard line. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Meanwhile, Keenan relied upon the passing game in the second half. Washington delivered with touchdowns to sophomores <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664646' first='Deion' last='Hollis']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664508' first='Jordan' last='Wilson']</strong> and finished with 250 passing yards to go with 51 rushing yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I've improved greatly,” Washington said. “Overall, I've worked and worked and worked and worked. That's all we do. Last year, I was doing good, but I wasn't as good as I am now.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The lone negative for Keenan was getting assessed 13 penalties. If the Raiders want to continue playing for something bigger than football, Neely knows they must cut down on such self-inflected mistakes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We've got to clean up the penalties,” Neely said. “We started out the season having a bunch of penalties every single game and if you take some of those penalties back…we might be looking at 9-0. I think those penalties have kind of killing us and we're going to fix that.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We've got to stay locked in,” Washington said. “Play together really. We came out sloppy. We can't do that. We've to&nbsp; get better every time.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Keenan (6-3, 2-1) closes out the regular season at Newberry.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->