Washington was piling up the passing yards, but the Warriors weren't making much headway on the scoreboard against Jefferson in Friday night's football game at Kingston Stadium.

A switch to the ground game did the trick for the Warriors, who broke away from a 21-21 tie to beat the J-Hawks, 34-21.

Washington (2-5) snapped a five-game losing streak in notching its 11th straight win in the series against Jefferson, which dates back to 1957. The J-Hawks have not beaten the Warriors since 2001.

Washington senior quarterback Mitch Blades threw touchdown passes of 35 and 38 yards to Jason Oney in the second quarter as Washington built a 21-14 lead. Blades was 10-of-11 for 171 yards in the first half, but the Warriors were only able to rush for 43 yards, including an 8-yard scoring jaunt by senior Mitch Bredeson.

Jefferson (1-6) tied the game on Layne Sullivan's 15-yard scoring run on an untimed down to end the third quarter. It was the third rushing touchdown of the game for Jefferson's junior quarterback.

"I initially thought we could get them in a shootout and that would be fine," said Washington Coach Tony Lombardi, whose team employed a no-huddle offense during much of the first three quarters of the game. "But when they started to move the ball and scored some points, I thought it was best to keep them off the field.

"As many a good general would tell you, the first thing to go in the battle is the battle plan. You just have to figure that out as you go and say, 'OK, this is what we're going to have to do to win the ballgame.' "

And that's when the Warriors' went to their running game, grinding out 96 of their 148 total rushing yards in the fourth quarter.

"The ground game did two things," Lombardi said. "It tacked on more points and it kept the ball away from them."

Taking over at its own 36, Washington ground out a 12-play drive that culminated with a 2-yard sneak by Blades. The Warriors ran the ball 11 times, only going to the air on a third-and-11 from the Jefferson 20. Blades hooked up with Clayton Bjornsen for an 11-yard gain and first down at the J-Hawks' 9.

After losing two yards on first down, Bredeson burst off right guard for nine before Blades sneaked in. Riyad Ajram's PAT kick gave the Warriors a 28-21 lead with 6:53 to play.

The Warriors got a huge break on the ensuing kickoff when Jefferson junior Michael Moncivais muffed the ball at the 8 and had to scramble to recover the ball at the Jefferson 4. Three straight incompletions forced a punt and Washington sophomore Reid Snitker returned it 17 yards to the J-Hawk 23.

"The muff of the kickoff is one of those things you can't do and be successful," Jefferson Coach Brian Webb said. "Our kids are getting better. They're learning from those things. Their football IQ is getting better."

Six plays later -- all runs -- and Blades scored on a 5-yard keeper. Ajram's PAT kick was wide, but the Warriors held a 34-21 lead with 2:41 to play.

Jefferson marched back into Washington territory, but the game ended when Sullivan was tossed for a 2-yard loss from the Warrior 23.

"We have to finish down the stretch," said Sullivan, who ran 18 times for 17 yards and completed 15 of 28 passes for 171 yards. The J-Hawks were held to 72 yards rushing on 39 attempts. "It just comes down to execution."

Jefferson junior Brandon Wiederin caught six passes for 71 yards.

Because of injuries, Jefferson moved four players up to the varsity squad and had a total of 30 players in uniform for the game. Sophomore Mason Furnish, listed at 5-foot-10 and 132 pounds, started at wide receiver but did not catch a pass.

"I thought we played great. I thought we played hard," Webb said. "We never gave up and our kids are doing the best they can.

"These kids want to be successful."

Washington hosts Prairie next Thursday night at Kingston Stadium.

Jefferson plays at Iowa City West next Friday night.

WASHINGTON 34, JEFFERSON 21

First downs -- CRW 17; CRJ 16  
Rushes-yards -- CRW 38-148; CRJ 39-72    
Passing yards -- CRW 224; CRJ 187   
Comp-att-int -- CRW 13-18-0; CRJ 15-28-0  
Punts-avg. -- CRW 0-0; CRJ 4-38.3   
Fumbles-Lost -- CRW 2-1; CRJ 0-0  
Penalties-yards -- CRW 10-75; CRJ 5-35

Washington      7     14      0     13  --     34
Jefferson          7      7      7       0  --     21

CRW - Mitch Bredeson 8 run (Riyad Ajram kick)
CRJ - Layne Sullivan 7 run (Nick Rocha kick)
CRW - Jason Oney 35 pass from Mitch Blades (Ajram kick)
CRJ - Sullivan 1 run (Rocha kick)
CRW - Oney 38 pass from Blades (Ajram kick)
CRJ - Sullivan 15 run (Rocha kick)
CRW - Blades 2 run (Ajram kick)
CRW - Blades 5 run (kick failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing
CRW - Mitch Bredeson 25-118, Mitch Blades 9-42, JoJo McBride 1-6, Noah Dostal 1-(-9), Team 2-(-9)   
CRJ - Michael Moncivais 13-46, Layne Sullivan 18-17, Nick O'Connell 5-5, Hunter Kloubec 1-2, Drake Allen 2-2

Passing
CRW - Blades 13-18-0-224
CRJ - Sullivan 15-28-0-187

Receiving
CRW - Jason Oney 4-96, Clayton Bjornsen 4-47, Maurice Arrington 2-40, Dostal 2-32, Rollie Potter 1-9
CRJ - Brandon Wiederin 6-71, Kloubec 4-59, Peter Watson 2-26, Spencer Hunt 1-21, Blake Bernhauer 1-11, Moncivais 1-(-1)

Sophs -- Washington 38, Jefferson 7