When Dexter Washington took back the reins of the Hamilton Christian football program this season, his goal was simply to rebuild the program and make the Warriors competitive again.

“I have been here for 12 years and have been involved in athletics throughout the whole process in all sports,” Washington said. “I said I was familiar with all the kids, and it makes sense for me to go in and take the program over until we get it back on the right track.

“The right track is not going to be winning games. The right track is going to be having a group of kids that can go out there and be able to compete in every game. That is all I wanted — for them to be able to compete, to be disciplined and carry themselves in a respectful way and to attract people to see that our program is re-surging.”

But it has turned into something more. A year after going winless, the Warriors are 3-5 and have a chance to make the playoffs, depending on how the final two weeks of the regular season shape up. The Warriors are No. 23 in the Select Division IV power ratings. The division uses a 24-team postseason bracket.

“Lo and behold, we are 3-5, and I think we will be competitive with our last two opponents, with a possibility of maybe — I don’t know — a chance to get into the playoffs,” Washington said. “My tone now is that we are playing for something.

“I told them yesterday that the focus now is different because you are actually playing for something. At this time last year you were just getting through the season. I told some people that I am really beginning to have fun with this again. I am enjoying it again.

“Anyone who knows me, I am not going to go out there and lose. I have gained some more momentum to the point where I have challenged myself … Hamilton Christian has been so good to me that I knew I had to go stand out there in that 115-degree (weather) and fight for us to rebuild the program.”

The Warriors have gone from multiple games with a running clock in the second half of blowout losses, to a couple of plays from being a 5-3 team. In a pair of 34-26 losses to Grand Lake in Week 1 and Westminster Christian in Week 4, the Warriors led each game in the third quarter.

“As a coach, looking back, the Grand Lake game showed our school community that we could be competitive and had a chance, not necessarily to win every game but to get people to sit at the game for four quarters,” Washington said. “Last year, the clock ran at halftime in six or seven of the games. It was a lot of stuff. I am not going to blame anybody.

“We just knew we needed to do it differently. The campus students, the student body and the culture on the school campus have changed. The kids are going to tutoring, the kids are wearing neckties, going to classes, being disciplined and handling the academic challenges these teachers are giving them. That all led to us being able to have some success in football.”

The Warriors are one of the area’s most improved teams this season, especially on the defensive side. Through eight games last year the Warriors allowed 47.4 points a game. A year later they have it down to 23.5 after shutting out Gueydan 41-0 last week. Washington said Messiah Simien, who has scored twice in the last two weeks, lineman Devwin Rankins, linebacker Stephan Allen and a pair of freshmen — Grant Menard and Jayden Jasmine — have been key.

“Those kids on the defense have done a tremendous job, and they think they can win again,” Washington said.

Freshman quarterback Javon Vital has been out with an injury since Week 4, but the Warriors have adapted to a more run-oriented game plan with wide receiver Sammy Knight moving under center. Running back Kylan Alexander leads the Warriors with 627 yards and four touchdowns.

“Everybody likes to run the spread,” Washington said. “It is a spread generation.

“I am from the 1980s. I am a Nebraska/USC with them boys. We are going to run the Nebraska. We are going to run the iso (isolation). We will mix that up with a few other things.

“If you are going to beat us, you have to stop us from running the ball. We are going to run the ball. That is one of the things we have done in the absence of Vital. We haven’t really passed for a lot since he went out, but we have run for almost 200-plus yards every game.”

The Warriors (3-5, 2-2 District 4-1A) host East Beauregard (5-3, 2-1) on Friday.

“They are going to run that double-wing, and I am grateful to God they are leaving and going 2A,” Washington said of the Trojans. “I don’t have to see this again.

“This late in the year, to see that, it is not so much the scheme, but the kids have to get 11 on 11 right at the line of scrimmage. They always have these big ol’ linemen, and you have to figure out how to stop them. It is tough.”