Freeport’s defensive line wreaked havoc against McGuffey last Friday in the first round of the Class AA playoffs.

If the Yellowjackets want to reach the semifinals for the first time since 1990, they are going to have to find similar success at 7:30 p.m. Friday when they take on Washington at Chartiers Valley High School.

The Little Prexies’ big offensive line has paved the way for 2,979 rushing yards.

Washington is led up front by 6-foot-1, 303-pound senior nose guard/offensive guard Khalid Blount, who is an Akron recruit.

The third-seeded Little Prexies, who are 10-0 and won the Interstate Conference, also have Nate Swart (6-5, 230), Ross Goldstone (6-2, 330), Andrew Mercer (6-2, 280) and Thomas Cherry (6-0, 275).

That size has helped open holes for two 1,000-yard rushers.

Kurt Adkins has 1,237 yards rushing on 97 carries with 19 touchdowns, while Jordan West has 1,003 yards on 65 carries for 15 scores.

“They’ve been pretty consistent players for a couple years now,” Washinton coach Mike Bosnic said. “Both have been explosive on offense and solid defensive players.”

Freeport coach John Gaillot said the battle in the trenches will be strong point vs. strong point.

The Yellowjackets are led by senior Logan Thimons, a West Virginia recruit, who has 138 tackles and 15.5 sacks, and Bobby Jendrejewski, who has 9.5 sacks.

“Some of the kids they have outweigh us by 100-plus pounds,” Gaillot said. “(Washington) goes hard. I think from watching film Mt. Pleasant had a decent defensive line and Washington seemed to find a crack and once they did, they were off to the races.”

Freeport’s offense will also need to crack a tough Washington defense. The Little Prexies have intercepted 17 passes and held opponents to 141 total yards of offense per game.

“We have 11 guys that are taking a lot of pride in playing defense and we are playing very physical and flying around,” Bosnic said. “Everyone is doing his job right now.”

Freeport quarterback Ryan Weigold presents a different challenge for Washington.

While Bosnic said they’ve faced teams that ran a spread attack, none have been as complete as the Yellowjackets.

Weigold has only been intercepted once this season in 187 passing attempts. He set the school’s all-time record for passing yards in a season, throwing for 1,999 yards and for 26 scores.

Gaillot said he thinks with the weapons Weigold has — wide receivers Dylan Hochbein (635 receiving yards) , Brandon Hochbein (595), J.J. Brestensky (323) and tight end Josh Beale (373) — he believes sixth-seeded Freeport can give Washington a battle.

“We were very confident on the field last Friday,” said Gaillot about Freeport’s 45-6 win. “They believe they can do that to anybody. “

Note: Freeport is 4-0 all-time vs. Washington in the WPIAL playoffs. The two teams last met in the first round in 2002, with the Yellowjackets scoring a 30-21 win.