Homecoming Queen Laney Gregory and her court brought beauty and elegance to Patriot Field last Friday night, while her Patriots brought gloom and doom to the Central Holmes Christian Trojans.
It was a slow start but a fast finish for the Patriots as they fell behind 8-3 in the opening quarter. But they regrouped and poured on 40 unanswered points to take the 43-8 homecoming game victory.
Winston suffered a fumble on their first possession but got it back immediately when Parker Cravens recovered a Trojan fumble at the Winston 29-yard line with 6:57 left in the opening quarter.
Shortly thereafter, Brylee Wall connected on a 23-yard field goal to add the first points of the night. The Trojans then answered right back after a 55-yard run and 2-point conversion to follow as they put the Patriots down 8-3 to end the first quarter scoring.
With 10:19 left before halftime, Omar Scott put Winston on top to stay after a 36-yard touchdown run. Brylee Wall connected on the PAT to send the Patriots on top 10-8. After a Trojan punt, Wall found an open Will Thompson open down the middle and he took it 86 yards for the score. Wall's PAT had increased the Winston led to 17-8 with 6:30 on the second quarter clock.
The Patriots then continued to show momentum as Rivers Stevenson recovered the following onside kick near midfield to retain possession. But a deflected pass ended up being intercepted to stop the drive.
Winston would quickly get the ball back when Carter McClelland gathered in an interception of his own to set up another Patriot score.
With 4:26 before halftime, Wall found Jack Wooten open in the flats for a 30 yard scoring pass followed by Wall's PAT to send Winston up 24-8.
The Trojans were then denied any chance to score again before halftime when Bryce Clark pulled in an interception to end all halftime scoring.
After a charming homecoming show, the Patriots kept the momentum going when Ethan Yates recovered a Trojan fumble to set up another Patriot score.
With 5:29 left in the third, Omar Scott added his second touchdown of the night with a 14 yard run, with Wall's PAT increasing the WInston lead to 31-8.
After a Central Holmes punt, Winston continued to build their lead when Wall found Will Thompson open again for a 25 yard touchdown reception.
The try for 2 failed but the Patriots had built a solid lead with a 37-8 score with 36 seconds left in the third quarter.
As punts from both teams were exchanged in the final quarter of play, it was at the 4:46 point when Omar Scott put the Trojans to rest when he returned a punt 60 yards for the score. His third touchdown of the night ended all scoring with the Patriots earning the 43-8 victory.
As the Patriots rolled up 436 yards in the ground and in the air, they were led in rushing by Omar Scott with 94 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was followed by Jett Joiner with 65 yards. Brylee Wall had an outstanding night in passing as he threw for 267 yards and 3 touchdowns, while suffering 1 interception. His main receivers were Will Thompson with 2 receptions for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns and Max Fulcher with 42 yards while Jack Wooten had 37 yards and one score. They were followed by Secrata Miller with 30, Bryson Wright with 25, and J.T. McGinnis with 22. Brylee Wall also converted on a 23 yard field goal and 4 PAT's.
The defense had plenty of action as Jack Wooten, Parker Cravens, and Justin McCool all finished with 4 tackles. Cravens, Ethan Yates, and Rivers Stevenson each recovered a fumble while Carter McClelland and Bryce Clark each pulled in an interception.
So as the Patriots came on with a slow start, they will try to open fast this week against former WA head coach Junior Graham as they travel to Winona Christian Friday night. Game time is set for 7 P.M.
WA prepares for Winona Christian
By ROBBIE FAULK
There was no hiding Pat Byrd’s reluctance heading into last Friday’s game against Central Holmes Christian.
Perhaps more than just about anywhere, Homecoming at Winston Academy is a big deal. The Maids in their dresses, their escorts in tuxes, dress up days throughout the week and a fun play on Friday always seems to be the focus of everyone’s attention, but the coach and his players still have a game to prepare for on Friday night.
The Patriots were in some trouble early on against the visitors but they turned it on after the early deficit on the way to a 43-8 blowout. It wasn’t a perfect ball game for Byrd but it was the third-straight win for the Patriots and it’s hard to complain about that.
“I think we started the game like we were still in the middle of Homecoming,” Byrd said of the Patriots’ execution. “It took us a quarter and a half to get anything going. We ended up with nine penalties in the game which isn’t as bad as 15 but it’s still too many. I think we were functioning pretty good by the end of the game, but we’ve got to get more consistent.”
Since losing 35-7 to a great Leake Academy team, the Patriots have beaten Canton Academy, Noxapater and Central Holmes. It’s the first three-game winning streak for WA in 10 years and starting 4-1 would be the best start since 2008 when WA went 10-0 in the regular season.
A big matchup on the road at Starkville Academy is waiting next week for the Patriots before MAIS 4-2A play begins against St. Joseph, but business is ahead at Winona Christian first. Junior Graham’s team has been competitive since he arrived, and this year’s team is rebuilding after losing a lot of talent.
The Stars have dropped games the last two weeks to Oak Hill Academy and Benton Academy after beating French Camp in week one.
“They lost a lot of good players, mainly their quarterback who transferred to MRA. I think they graduated 10 or 11 kids last year, so they lost the bulk of their football team. They’re going to be well-coached, be where they’re supposed to be and that’s not an easy place to play,” Byrd said of Winona Christian.
“I want to see consistency. Eliminate silly mistakes. We’ve got to do that. We’re fixing to be playing folks that if you do that, you’re not going to win the football game.”
The Pats enter the game with a dynamic offense rushing for 176 yards per game behind sophomore Choctaw County transfer Omar Scott’s 574 yards rushing on 64 carries and six touchdowns. Scott has three 100-yard games in the first four and has helped the Pats open things up more on that side of the ball.
Brylee Wall has passed for 638 yards at quarterback with six touchdowns and three interceptions. With Will Thompson hauling in 205 yards and three scores on just six receptions. On defense, Jack Wooten is leading the way with 48 tackles. Thompson and Rivers Stevenson have 2.0 tackles for loss to lead the way.
While the production is high so far, Byrd wants to see his team be more consistent down the stretch with big games on the way.
“I think we’ve got a real high ceiling, but we’ve got to eliminate the silly mistakes,” Byrd said. “Physical, you can deal with. If someone is just better than you, that’s fine. The mental part, we control that and we’ve got to be cleaner.”
