It’s now year three for Pat Byrd at Winston Academy and it’s a year that often proves to be pivotal for coaches when building their programs. Year three is when most of the players have spent all of their high school careers under a coach’s leadership and understand exactly what’s expected of them. For Byrd, he inherited a tradition rich program that had not experienced the success of year’s past. The Patriots hadn’t been to a playoff game since 2011 and they haven’t had a winning season since 2010. Being one of the most successful programs in the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools all-time in terms of state championship wins, the former public school coach has been yearning to bring that expectation back. First, he wanted his team to take baby steps and they’ve done that. After winning two games in year one and failing to be overly competitive in most of their games, the Patriots did indeed take a big step last year. They won just a game more in 2019, but they claimed a district win, were competitive against a strong schedule and made the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade. “Getting in the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons was a big deal for us,” Byrd said. “The kids got a taste of it so hopefully that will propel us. It gives you a more realistic goal instead of something that you just see that you want to reach out and touch. Now that you’ve actually done it, do we have the will to push through and go to another level? We’ll see.” There are some pieces gone from a year ago. The Patriots lost almost all of its rushing yards from last season, granted they just had over 1,000 yards on the ground. They also lost a talented playmaker in wide receiver Cage Palmer, but they return starting quarterback Brylee Wall and standout athlete Johnson Wells who should take over Palmer’s production. Wall threw 19 touchdowns in his first season as starter and for 1,835 yards. He gives the Patriots some size and strength that they haven’t had at the position since Tyler Sullivan at the start of the decade and his 6’2, 210-pound stature should be imposing for defenses. As for the Patriot defense, Byrd is excited about the steps they’ve taken in the last three years. They started with a three-man front his first season, switched to a 4-3 a season ago and now will run a 3-3 stack defense to fit the personnel. In the season-opening jamboree against Starkville Academy, there was a lot that pleased him but two touchdowns came from breakdowns defensively. “We didn’t tackle well at times but I thought we ran well to the ball and played with great effort. We’re in a three-man front now and you’ve got to make sure that your linebackers and front are fitting offensive gaps and we had some misalignments that caught us at times. We can fix all of that stuff.” One of the biggest challenges for Byrd this season – like every other coach in America – is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. WA has suffered from it early as several players had to quarantine and multiple had positive tests that’s kept practices inconsistent. For the jamboree, Byrd was missing several players and wasn’t able to see exactly what his team may look like. But he did think that they got better as a team going up against SA. “You don’t know what people can do in practice against freshmen. Freshmen give you a good look, but it’s not what they’re going to see on Friday night,” Byrd said. “Now, we’ve got two quarters against a team that can play and we can fix some mistakes. I thought that was as good as it’s been and better than we’ve had it in three years.” The Patriots started the year against Leake Academy in a game that took place after press time but they have another solid schedule ahead this year. They have matchups with East Rankin, Tri-County, Simpson and Canton that will prove to be a test. They’re hoping they take yet another step forward. Roster: #1 Fr. Cole Haab #2 Fr. Sam Gilmber #3 So. JT Mcginnis #5 So. Jett Joiner #5 Sr. Johnson Wells #7 Fr. Brent Ware #8 Sr. Curry Black #9 Sr. Cam Sanders #10 So. Taylor Hudson #11 Jr. Brylee Wall #12 So. Brady Lee #14 Sr. Michael Majors #15 Sr. Will Catt #16 So. Carson Watkins #18 Fr. Jonah Sims #20 So. Paighton Edwards #21 So. Carter Mcclelland #22 Fr. Will Chancellor #23 Fr. James Yarbrough #24 So. Max Fulcher #25 Fr. AJ Drury #28 Jackson Hudson #32 So. Parker Cravens #36 So. Walker White #40 So. Dalton Steed #44 Sr. Tanner Boatner #50 So. Rivers Stevenson #52 Sr. Logan Warner #53 Jr. Brantlee Wright #54 Jr. Jack Wooten #56 Sr. Matthew Ccooper #57 So. Kody Young #60 Sr. Nick Stewart #62 Sr. Josh Lee #62 Fr. Jesse Wooten #64 So. Justin McCool #66 Fr. Dakota Hill #68 Jr. Trey Dana #75 So. Bryce Clark #78 Sr. Mac Thompson
