There’s certainly no shortage of confidence amongst the Pam Pack and its veteran head coach. Coming off a shut down defensive performance against a formidable Riverside Knights football team last week, Washington is staying focused on the present, concentrating on addressing minor flaws on both sides of the ball, while keeping its ultimate goal in mind — a second-consecutive Eastern Plains Conference title and a NCHSAA state championship, what would be the first in school and Beaufort County history.

And the objective is by no means remote. After decades of mediocre football on the banks of the Pamlico River, Sport Sawyer appears to have breathed new life into a program, resurrecting it from its glory days. Taking the class relegation of 2013 and current crop of football talent into consideration, the current setting seems to be right. The timing fitting.

Those who played alongside current East Carolina receiver Jimmy Williams during his final season at Washington in 2012, which turned out to be the best season of the Sawyer era at the time, are now experienced senior football players at the peak of their high school careers. Seven players, including running back Markel Spencer, quarterback Patrick Thompson and linebacker Jamond Ebrond, have played on some of the most successful teams in the history of Washington.

And this one, in particular, has the potential to be the best. With a roster consisting of 26 seniors, Washington may not get a second shot at fulfilling its goal in the near future due to the talent graduating. But Sawyer is hardly thinking about 2015. He is fixated on perfection, tweaking a play here, a formation there, to deliver the most efficient on-the-field product.

Being overly critical is an attribute common in head coaches at every level and sport. Sawyer believes the Pam Pack has not reached its full potential just yet.

“We’re not playing bad, we’re just continuing to perfect things,” he said. “Our goal from the beginning is to be a state champion. We have a lot of work to do to get there, but that is our goal. We want that and are striving for that.”

So far, it’s been the Pam Pack linebacking corps that has been the foundation of this team. They’ve compensated for the loss in size up front by containing the middle of the field successfully. Of the team’s six interceptions this season, four have been from linebackers (two from Ebron) in the 4-4 defense. Players like Ebron, Rayekwon Satterwaithe, Lexroy Brown and Brandon Jackson have also allowed just a handful of 20-plus yard runs this season.

If the foundation of the Pam Pack is built on containing the run, the heart and soul of the team lies in the legs of its running back, Spencer, who with a 97-yard performance last week inched his way closer to the 4,000-yard career rushing mark.

Spencer is soft-spoken, leading more by example, and his teammates feed off his on-the-field production.

“Markel is a quiet leader by playing hard and practicing hard,” Sawyer said.

In terms of personal accomplishments, the 5,000 career-rushing mark has always been the most coveted milestone for a running back in high school athletics. But the way Spencer’s season is taking shape up right now, it will take a team effort for him to reach that remarkable individual accomplishment.

Whether or not the Pam Pack running back reaches the 5,000-yard mark will likely depend on whether or not Washington is still playing football in December.

Milestone aside, Sawyer sees Spencer as one of the most valuable offensive weapons he’s coached since Williams graced the spongy grass of J.G. Choppy Wagner Stadium.

“Markel from tackle to tackle is pretty tight, while also being able to run some outside plays,” Sawyer said. “Jimmy was more or less outside the tackles, so there’s a little bit of difference there. Both of them are very good. Both have a burst of speed in the first three or four steps that you really can’t cover.”

Sitting just 266-yards away from 4,000, a solid performance on Friday could set the stage for Spencer to eclipse the mark against No. 5-ranked Farmville Central on Oct. 10, the first week of Eastern Plains Conference play.

And as Washington eyes a championship, the Jaguars are looking like the team to beat this year, boasting a 6-0 record with an offense that leads Class 2-A in points scored, averaging 48 a game.

In a virtual playoff preview, next week’s game could set the tone for the remainder of the season. But first, the Pam Pack must take care of Kinston at home on Friday in the team’s final out-of-conference game. The Vikings are 2-3 this season and are losers of three-straight.