The Winston Patriots traveled to Vicksburg last Friday night to play one of the oldest Catholic schools in Mississippi, the St. Al Flashes.
With the state playoff picture on the line, this divisional game was very important to Winston, as a win would award them a first round game at Patriot Field. The Patriots wasted no time in going after that playoff berth as they recovered an onside kick to start the game and then quickly got on the scoreboard when Omar Scott took it in from 15 yards out for the score. Reed Yates added the PAT to put Winston on top 7-0 with 9:35 remaining in the first quarter.
The Flashes then followed with a punt on their first possession and the Patriots went right back to work when Holder Tidwell connected with Scott for a 29-yard scoring pass with Yates adding the point after to send the Patriot led to 14-0 to end the first quarter. St. Al then moved the ball to the Patriot 3-yard line before being stopped on 4th down. Winton then moved the ball out to their own 27-yard line with 9:20 left in the half. It was then that Omar Scott took it 73 yards for the score with Yates' PAT increasing the Winston led to 21-0.
St. Al was again stopped and forced to punt. Scott- again- showed his speed and running ability and raced 78 yards for the score with Reed Yates again adding the PAT to send the Winston led to 28-0 with 5:25 left before halftime.
The Flashes then started at their own 28-yard line and ended up punting from their own 18-yard line. A good punt return from Ky Kirk set up the final Patriot score. With 2:53 left before half, Scott added his fourth rushing touchdown of the night on a 40-yard run with Yates converting the PAT to now send the game into a running clock situation with the 35-0 score which is where the score ended at halftime.
With new players on the field for Winston to start the second half, St. Al would then show a little life with a successful onside kick. This set up their first score on a 7-yard pass with PAT to follow to make the score 35-7 with 5:21 left in the third quarter.
Again, an onside kick attempt was successful, and the Flashes were showing some sign of life as the marched downfield and scored on a 20 pass. Their PAT was good, and they had cut the Patriot lead to 35-15 with 2:59 left in the game, The running clock situation made it hard for the Flashes to earn the needed points to catch the Patriots, as they saw the clock tick down to 00:00 with Winston earning the divisional win and playoff berth. Offensively, Winston rushed for 287 yards and were led by Omar Scott with an outstanding night of 239 yards and 4 rushing touchdowns. He was followed by Will Chancellor with 28 yards.
In the passing game, Holder Tidwell passed for 45 yard and one touchdown while Omar Scott passed for 30 yards on one attempt. The leading receivers were Bryson Wright with 30 yards, Omar Scott with 29 yards and one touchdown reception, and Ky Kirk with 16 yards. Reed Yates finished 5 for 5 with PAT kicks. The gritty defense saw Cole Haab and Jackson Hudson lead the charge with 7 tackles each. They were followed by Braxton Rone with 5, while Hayes Caperton, Ben Caperton, and Justin Joiner were credited with 3 tackles each.
So as the practice season is now over, the real season starts this week at Patriot Field when Oak Hill from West Point travels to Winston for the first round of the state 4A playoffs. The Patriots and Oak Hill have already played once this year on the regular season schedule with the Patriots coming out on top.
Winston will try to continue to build on their 6-4 record as the playoff picture begins. Game time is set for 7 PM at Patriot Field.
Patriots take down St. Aloysius, face Oak Hill in playoffs
By Robbie Faulk
Winston County Journal
After a tough stretch of games where Winston Academy lost three of four games to good district ball clubs, the Patriots needed some good things to happen over the final few weeks of the season.
That came for Pat Byrd’s team as he took home three of four wins to counter the tough stretch and it earned the Patriots a home playoff ball game this week. After rolling over Wayne Academy 40-22, the Pats took care of district foe St. Aloysius 35-14 last week in a game that served its purpose in Byrd’s eyes.
“Offensively I thought we played well in the first half. We played our young guys in the second half and that’s always good,” Byrd said. “I thought we’ve played up and down on defense. We didn’t contain the quarterback very well. I would like to see us be able to come in and close the door early in that situation. I’m proud to get out of it with a win and no injuries.”
The injury bug has been something that the Pats have had to deal with all season long. It wasn’t until last Friday night that the Pats had their full allotment of regular starters on the offensive line and Byrd believes his whole team is as healthy as it has been.
At 6-4 on the season, the Patriots got the No. 6 seed and the team is looking for back-to-back seasons with a playoff win.
To get that win, WA will be at home against a familiar foe in Oak Hill Academy. The Raiders and Pats have already met once this season with WA running up a 54-21 victory back on September 29. Byrd said that some things are a little different for the 3-7 Raiders but they’ve struggled down the stretch with four-straight losses as they limp into the playoffs.
“Their scheme has changed a little bit on offense. They’re pretty much empty the entire time and it’s a lot of throwing the football and a little bit of quarterback run,” Byrd said. “We need to establish the run and prevent big plays. We’ve got to be sound, keep everything in front of us and tackle.”
Byrd has done a good job stabilizing a WA program that had lost itself in the wilderness after a decade of losing. The Pats have now grown accustomed to winning six or seven games and making the playoffs. Last year, they broke a drought of failing to win playoff games and this year they’re hoping to make another step.
It’s been 16 years since WA was able to win two playoff games and 15 years since it won more than seven games. A win against Oak Hill will get them close and a date with Washington School next week would follow.
“You get to play with a chance to play in November and that’s what you want,” Byrd said. “Last year we won the first playoff game in 10 or 11 years but can you take it a step further? Can these kids follow through and finish the year how we want? It remains to be seen. Friday night was the first time in 10 ball games we’ve played with all five starters on the offensive line. If we can keep that, you like your chances.”
