It turned out to be the same song, sixth verse for Washington and Jones last Friday night but the game didn’t start off well for the Warriors in their 35-34 state semifinals victory at Yukon.

For the sixth time in the last four years, Washington came out on top including the last four straight state playoff contests against Jones.

But last Friday night the Longhorns jumped out to a commanding 18-0 lead over the Warriors in the first quarter before Hudson Howard got the Washington on the board with a 48-yard scamper.

Howard carried the mail for Washington 21 times for 191 yards and scored the final Warrior score of the night, a 13 yarder in the fourth quarter.

“Hudson had a big night but I’m sure he would give all the credit in the world to his offensive line,” head coach Brad Beller said.

Beller was referring to Kingston Stringer, Jordan Vanya, Tanner Winlock, Easton Berglan and Baylor Haynes and tight ends Nate Roberts and Cooper Alexander.

As it was, the Warriors rushed for 313 yards on 38 attempts but would have had closer to 400 yards on the ground if not for center snaps over Major Cantrell’s head.

Mayson Thomas made all five of the PATs which proved to be the difference in the contest.

Jones failed on three two-point conversions in the game.

A pivotal point in the game came via the defense when Max Wilson stepped in front of a second quarter Longhorn pass and took it to the house.

“We had some bad series on defense but we came up with two interceptions including the pick six,” Beller said. “That put us up to stay at 21-18.”

Dawson Thomas had the other interception to go with four tackles including one for a loss.

Each side of the ball, all three phases made mistakes but they overcame the errors.

“Our offense was good in spots but a couple of busts were self-inflicted,”the coach said. “That was a culture and program win. Coming back from an 18-0 deficit says a lot about the character and the grit of our team.

“It was one of those games that will be remembered forever, how we fought back,” Beller said. “Making every extra point was huge. Mayson has been working on being more consistent.”

Kade Norman tallied the second Warrior touchdown run of the night on a one-yard plunge. Cantrell had the other score, a 17-yard burst in the third period.

Jones threw in a few new creases on offense that caused consternation for the play callers on defense, namely Case Taylor, Keller Howard and Cole Beller.

“They had their hands full with all the formations and all the new formations,” Beller confirmed. “They made all the checks and all the calls. They just really took command of the defense on the field.”

Cole Beller led the defensive assault against the Longhorns with 11 tackles. Case Taylor finished with nine while Case Alexander and Naithen Spaulding each registered seven stops.

Howard made six tackles while Kade Norman finished with five.

Washington’s defensive linemen are Kane Lampkin, Naithen Spaulding, Wyatt Denton and Lane Taylor.