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Nansemond River High School standouts Elijah Askew and Rashawn Washington will be headed to play at the next level.

The Warriors football team will have a couple of seniors gearing up to go compete at the college level. Standouts Elijah Askew and Rashawn Washington have plans to attend Chowan University and Virginia State University, respectively. Both schools reside in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Askew described his recruiting process as a long and bumpy road because of how many years he was actually able to start in high school football, and academically he wasn’t where he felt he was supposed to be. Askew also broke his leg in August, and that affected his recruiting process as well. However, Askew was able to come back and have a strong senior campaign for the Warriors last fall. Over the course of the last two seasons, Askew had interest from programs from the NCAA Division I and Division II before deciding on Division II Chowan. Askew plans to major in physical education.

“I chose Chowan, because even if I get there and can’t play football anymore, I still can earn a very good education,” Askew said.

The coaching staff at Chowan is excited about the potential Askew can bring to the program. The senior Warrior was an All-District performer and was the Defensive MVP of the 757 All-Star game in December.

“I’m 100-percent healthy with no issues,” Askew said. “I believe they are excited about what I could potentially do for them, and I am ready to prove what I can do for them.”

Washington felt with the options he had, VSU will give him the best chance to showcase his talent. The standout has long talked about his goal of someday making it to the NFL, and he knows it will start with him working as hard as he can as soon as he gets to VSU.

“I’m just blessed to be given an opportunity to be playing in college,” Washington said. “I’m going to keep working hard from this day forward and hopefully turn my dream into a reality.”

Washington was an All-District performer as well. Both Askew and Washington were essential to the success the Warriors had this season, finishing with an 8-2 record in the Southeastern District and a 9-3 record overall.