Mike Bosnic was happy being the head football coach at Carmichaels Area High School, a job he had held for the past six years.

But when an opportunity arose to run a team with a program he had maintained a reverence for since he was a young boy, it was too much to pass up.

Bosnic, 31, was named coach of the Washington High School Little Prexies last month.

"The program is almost legendary," Bosnic said. "The football program, growing up in Western Pennsylvania, I always heard of the great tradition and great teams at Wash High.

"It's very exciting to be here and a real honor to be here. Some really great athletes have played in this football program. There have been some really great athletes in this school in general."

Bosnic becomes only the third coach at Washington since the mid-1970s. He replaces Bill Britton, who had been the Prexies' coach since 2003 and before that served under longtime Wash High coach Guy Montecalvo, who is now at Canon-McMillan.

New Washington athletic director Joe Nicolella attended Bosnic's first meetings with football players in the Washington school district late last month, which occurred as part of signups for fall sports.

"I went with him when he spoke with the middle school students and with the high school students," Nicolella said. "He brought up the reason he was interested in this job was Wash High sports -- he was really eager to be part of that tradition."

Bosnic, an Albert Gallatin High School alumnus who played tight end and offensive tackle at Pitt, has worked with Prexies players virtually everyday since he was hired.

"We were impressed that shortly after his hiring, he came up here on his own and began to work with the kids in the weight room," Nicolella said. "That was a major plus.

"We were happy to see that he started agility drills in the parking lot, instituted speed training, had a professional trainer coming to work with the kids.

"He's stepped in here and gotten his hands in it right away, gotten the kids engaged."

Also hired as a special education teacher at Washington, Bosnic is not discouraged by the fact the Prexies went 1-8 last season. The team entered that campaign with only two returning starters and played in a very competitive Class AA Interstate Conference.

"There are definitely some really good kids here, and a lot of talent is coming up around the corner," Bosnic said. "It's just going to be a matter of us coming together and putting things together and working hard."

Bosnic leaves a Carmichaels team that he led to the WPIAL Class A playoffs during each of his six seasons, going 35-25. The Mighty Mikes will now be coached by former longtime coach John Menhart, whom Bosnic had replaced in 2003.

Bosnic made it clear that his experiences at Carmichaels were positive and that leaving the school and team wasn't easy.

"It was tough. I had developed great relationships with the kids and the parents there and the administration," Bosnic said. "It was tough to leave, and I felt I was at a good place.

"By the same token, I'm really excited to be at Washington. Already, the administration and community there have been very supportive."

Perhaps that's because they are so hungry for a winner. Washington won the 2001 PIAA Class AA title and played in four WPIAL title games over the decade that preceded it. But the Prexies have made the playoffs only once since then.

"We'd like to get the program back to being dominant again, back to what it was," Bosnic said. "We just want to continue to improve everyday, take it one step at a time."

"It's a program with a storied history and a great tradition. I'm really excited to be here. The players are really working hard for me. Things are going well. I'm really excited."