by Lisa Hinton-Valdrighi
There’s a new regime at Red Devils camp with post-season play as a goal. First and foremost, being competitive in every game is the expectation.
New head coach Draper Washington says he “believes in what [his] kids can do.” They have the talent. Now they have to have the commitment.
“Our goal is to create a competitive atmosphere,” he said. “To get better the key component is to be competitive and every day we need to stress that. Not look to next week, we have to stress we have to win today or this week first.”
Washington has returned to the LHS sideline after taking a year off. He served as a varsity assistant and JV coach for seven years before going to Middlesex as an assistant for three years. He came back to Lancaster’s football program as an assistant from 2008 to 2015. For 13 straight years, he’s served as the head boys track coach at LHS.
He’s tackling this new role as the head coach with a new coaching staff—minus veteran LHS assistant Markus Ferguson, who will serve as the defensive coordinator. He was also faced with the challenge of low numbers during the first few weeks of camp. Thankfully, the roster has filled out and Washington is suiting up 32 varsity players.
Right now, he’s working on putting the right personnel in the right position.
“We have to maximize the talent we have,” said Washington. “But at the same time our biggest problem is finishing. By that I mean competing in ALL four quarters.”
Lancaster went 4-6 last season and .500 the year before. The Devils failed to make the playoffs last year.
