Cedar Rapids Washington fullback Tavion Stewart had carried the ball only once all day when he took a simple handoff in the fourth quarter and saw nothing but daylight between him and the end zone far away.

He had one thought as he raced 75 yards to paydirt.

"Don't stop running. Keep going. Don't slow down," he said.

Stewart's long gallop snapped a 14-14 tie and helped the Warriors beat Jefferson, 27-14, in the season opener Saturday afternoon at Kingston Stadium.

The cross-town rivals were supposed to play Friday night, but a severe thunderstorm sent everyone home early and made the teams wait another day to knock heads.

Washington was ranked as high as No. 2 in some preseason polls after playing for the Class 4A state title last year, but the Warriors had their hands full for three quarters against a team that finished with a 4-6 record last season.

"I saw a much improved Jefferson team," Washington Coach Paul James remarked. "I thought they played hard. They've got some good players. You can tell the coach (Brian Webb) has done a great job with them."

Washington jumped to a 14-0 lead in the first half on two short runs by Johnny Dobbs, but new Jefferson quarterback Jared Eivins threw a pair of touchdown passes and the game was deadlocked heading into the fourth period.

"When it was tied 14-all, it was decision time: What are we going to do?," said James. "And I really like the way we responded with the two touchdowns."

Washington had to rebuild its offensive line this season following heavy graduation losses. The O-Line was a great strength for the Warriors last year, and the new blockers appeared to need a little time before asserting themselves in the fourth quarter.

First Stewart broke loose on a simple trap play for his 75-yard touchdown, then Tavian Patrick iced the game with a 15-yard touchdown with 6:08 left to make it 27-14 and finish a 67-yard drive.

Benjamin Nassif had a 40-yard run on the final touchdown drive and quarterback TJ Vogel scrambled for 23 yards to get the Warriors into scoring position and secure the victory.

"I think it took awhile for all of us to click and kind of realize we were in our first game," said Vogel. "Last night kind of took us off our mental edge. We all need to improve. I need to improve, too."

Vogel hit 9 of 18 passes for 96 yards and no interceptions. He was the No. 2 quarterback last season before ascending to the top this year.

"I thought he did a good job," said James. "He's been there before, he's got confidence. He understands what we're trying to do.

"A little nervous early, or tight," James thought. "He was throwing a little deep. We had a chance to hit some early, but he's going to do a real fine job for us."

Washington was penalized nine times, including infractions that nullified two touchdowns and helped the J-Hawks stay in the game. "That hurt," said James.

Jefferson trailed 14-0 in the second quarter when Eivins rifled a pass to Valentino Green over the middle. Green shrugged off a pair of tacklers and raced into the end zone for a 77-yard touchdown to make it 14-7 at halftime.

The J-Hawks took the second half kickoff and refused to let Washington touch the ball for most of the stanza. The J-Hawks drove 80 yards in 18 plays and ate 8 minutes, 40 seconds off the clock and scored on a 9-yard toss from Eivins to Manny Olutunde.

Zebediah Render's PAT made it 14-14 with 3:20 left in the third quarter. Suddenly, it looked like the J-Hawks might pull a stunner.

Washington proved to be the better team in the fourth quarter when it counted, but the J-Hawks felt pretty good about themselves after the game.

"Our offense was working, our defense was shutting them down," said Eivins. "We held the No. 2 team to 27 points. We were tied there for the majority of the game. We played an awesome game.

"It just comes down to the last few minutes," he said. "Going up against the No. 2 team and losing by 13, that's an accomplishment."

Eivins hit 16 of 25 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns. He threw one interception, but it was late in the game and did not affect the outcome. Eivins missed all of the 2014 season with a shoulder injury and was happy to get back into action.

"It was a lot of fun," he said. "It was fun playing with the guys and being on the field. I was excited being the quarterback."

Washington ran for 220 yards, but 159 of those yards came in the fourth quarter when the Warriors took control. Until then, the J-Hawks did a good job of keeping the Warriors at bay.

Washington might have a disadvantage when it meets Kennedy next Friday night at Kingston Stadium. The Cougars beat Iowa City West, 34-31, Thursday night and have a two-day head start on the Warriors heading into Game 2.

"We're going to ice up and get the nutrients that we need," said Patrick. "We know we're going to get their best shot, too. Everybody is going to give us their best shot. We're going to be prepared for battle."

Patrick watched Kennedy's game against Iowa City West.

"It was interesting how explosive both teams were," he said. "I think it's going to be a challenge, but we're up to challenges."

Jefferson visits Prairie next Friday night. Jefferson Coach Brian Webb left Kingston Stadium after Saturday's game to watch Prairie play Linn-Mar Saturday night at Linn-Mar Stadium.

WASHINGTON 27, JEFFERSON 14

Wash       Jeff

First downs              12         14
Rushes-yards         34-220     33-48
Passing yards           96         224
Comp-Att-Int         9-18-0     16-25-1
Fumbles-lost           3-1        3-2
Punts-avg.           1-43.0     4-37.8
Penalties-yards       9-50       6-49

Washington    7   7   0  13 - 27
Jefferson   0   7   7   0 - 14

Scoring Plays

W - Johnny Dobbs 2 run (Ross Kennedy kick)
W - Dobbs 1 run (Kennedy kick)
J - Valentino Green 77 pass from Jared Eivins (Zebadiah Render kick)
J - Manny Olutunde 11 pass from Eivins (Render kick)
W - Tavion Stewart 75 run (Kennedy kick)
W - Tavian Patrick 15 run (Kennedy kick)

Individual Statistics

Rushing

WASHINGTON: Stewart 3-85, Dobbs 16-72, Nassif 2-32, Vogel 2-22, Patrick 9-21, Nimmers 1-minus 10, Team 1-minus 2.

JEFFERSON: Olutunde 11-28, Green 2-10, Short 4-7, Rashed 3-6, Eivins 11-0, Unkel 1-minus 1, Burnett 1-minus 2.

Passing

WASHINGTON: Vogel 9-18-0, 96.
JEFFERSON: Eivins 16-25-1, 224.

Receiving

WASHINGTON: Nimmers 3-34, Herzog 2-46, Vance 2-10, Dostal 1-5, Nassif 1-1.
JEFFERSON: Olutunde 7-30, Green 3-112, Short 3-21, Stafford 2-52, Taylor 1-9.