"This was payback time," Sillman added. "We lost two straight to them last season, and those numbers were our reminder."
The Eagles, looking for their 12th league championship under coach Ron Cohen, boosted their league record to 6-0. They are 6-1 overall, having lost to the Haverford School a week ago.
Northeast, which has been hampered by injuries, fell to 3-4 overall, 3-3 in the league.
"We did what we could," coach Chris Riley said.
With neither team playing much in the way of defense at the start - the two combined for 35 points in the first quarter - it appeared the outcome would be based on whose legs could outlast the other's.
The Eagles were first in the early races, with Sillman getting the first of his two touchdowns for the afternoon in the first four minutes. He has 20 TDs this season.
"I'm supposed to be a leader of this team, so I want to play as a leader," said the 5-foot-8, 190-pound senior, who played on Washington's Public League championship team as a sophomore.
Northeast, coming off a 24-12 league loss to Germantown, quickly tied it, 7-7, on a touchdown by senior Christopher Gary.
Donald Smith, who also had a pair of TDs, scored his first for Washington with 3 minutes, 43 seconds to go in the first quarter. But the Vikings' Anthony Quail tied it, 14-14, with an 83-yard run on the ensuing kickoff.
"I thought, 'Here we go,' " Cohen said. "We didn't play that well last week against the Haverford School [a 36-15 loss], and I wasn't sure how the kids would respond."
The Eagles responded by limiting Northeast to 14 points the rest of the way. First-year defensive coordinator Keither Kerrin said his players threw a multitude of defenses at the Vikings.
"Our defense finally came to play," Cohen noted.
Washington took the lead on a short run by junior quarterback Alfonso Augustine. Another short run by Augustine midway through the second quarter made it 28-14.
The Vikings cut it to 28-20 on a touchdown by LaQuille Nesbitt on a pass from quarterback Harold Alexander, but Washington shut out Northeast in the third quarter while increasing its lead to 42-20 on Smith's second TD.
Northeast 14 6 0 8 - 28
George Washington 21 14 7 7 - 49
GW: Hakeem Sillman 25 run (Jake Wright kick)
N: Christopher Gary 45 run (Howard Lynn kick)
GW: Donald Smith 65 run (Wright kick)
N: Anthony Quail 83 kickoff return (Lynn kick)
GW: Alfonso Augustine 3 run (Wright kick)
GW: Augustine 2 run (Wright kick)
N: LaQuille Nesbitt 3 pass from Harold Alexander (kick failed)
GW: Sillman 50 run (Wright kick)
GW: Smith 8 run (Wright kick)
N: Michael Samarco 14 run (Missiah Mason run)
GW: Ken Everage 4 run (Wright kick)
Contact staff writer Don Beideman at 267-815-0733 or dbeideman@phillynews.com.
