When the cold front from the north entered Patriot Field last Friday night before halftime, not only did the air turn cold, but the Patriots went cold as they lost the important district game to Canton, 22-15. Both teams were battling back and forth with Winston holding an edge on the stats for the first half except for the score.
The Patriots even started the second half with an aggressive ground attack from J. J. Beamon but the momentum shifted and Canton took the win. The first quarter went scoreless as both teams punted back and forth. Winston's only bright spot in the first quarter was an interception by Michael Majors which he returned to the Canton 45 yard line. Winston then got on the board in the second quarter when Brylee Wall took it in from 3 yards out.
Cage Palmer then found Jackson Joiner open in the end zone for the 2 points and the Patriots were on top 8-0. The Panthers answered right back with a 55 yard touchdown run and 2 point conversion to tie the game at 8-8 with 10:17 left before half.
After another series of punts, Canton added another score on a 44 yard pass.
The PAT kick put the Panthers on top 15-8 to end all first half scoring. The Patriots would open the second half with possession but hit the wall at the Canton 14 yard linewith a lost fumble. Canton would then add another score with 2:53 left in the third quarter on a 65 yard run. The successful PAT kick increased their lead to 22-8.
As the final quarter got underway, the Patriots tacked on another score when Wall connected with Jody Joiner for an 11 yard pass. Wall's PAT cut the Canton lead to 22-15 with 10:58 remaining. Both teams slugged it out with punt exchanges until 3:42 remaining. At this point, Jack Wooten recovered a Panther fumble at the Winston 25 yard line.
Facing a strong Canton defense, the Patriots turned it over on downs at the Winston 28 yard line. The first play from scrimmage, Wooten again, recovered a Panther fumble to give the Patriots a final chance with 2:16 remaining. But the same picture was painted again as Winston was stopped on a 4th down attempt and the Panthers took over at the Winston 30 yard line to only run out the clock and seal the district victory with the 22-15 score.
As several Winston running backs carried the ball, only U. Beamon and Jackson Joiner hit the plus column in yardage with 52 yards and 35 yards respectively. Brylee Wall passed for 143 yards and 1 touchdown while suffering 1 interception. He was also credited with a rushing score.
The leading receivers were Johnson Wells with 69 yards, Luke Dempsey with 37 yards, and Jody McCorkle with 28 yards and a scoring pass reception. The defense was led by Jack Wooten with 7 stops and 2 fumble recoveries and Johnson Wells with 6 stops.
Michael Majors had 6 tackles and an interception, followed by Curry Black with 4. Fletch Mercer, Jody McCorkle, and Tanner Boater all finished with 3 tackles. So as the playoff picture does not look very promising, the Patriots still have 1 district game left this week at Patriot Field against Clinton Christian. With only a 4 team district, each team will play only 3 district games. So a 1 game victory "might" be a possibility for a playoff game!!! Game time is set for 7:00 PM.
Patriots Ready for Senior Night
By Robbie Faulk
Winston County Journal
Frustrations were high for Winston Academy as they dropped another ball game on Friday night in defeat to Canton Academy.
It was one of the several losses this season where the Patriots were in positions to win the ball game and they couldn’t quite finish the deal.
“We just missed opportunities,” head coach Pat Byrd said. “(Canton) tried their best to give us the football game and we couldn’t do it. We had the ball three or four times inside the 30 in the second half and couldn’t score. We got the football back a few times and couldn’t go win it. We’re struggling to understand the difference in playing to win the game and not to lose. If I knew the formula to get us through that I would use it.”
The Patriots fell to 2-6 on the season with the loss and they’re 0-2 now in the division with just one game to play. The playoffs still aren’t out of the question for WA but the margin of error shrunk again.
It’s what made for a tough night for the players and coaches as they came up short again. Byrd said it’s why he is pushing his players this week to continue to move forward and learn from those mistakes.
“It’s frustrating but you can’t let it deflate the season,” Byrd said. “You’ve still got goals like getting into the playoffs. You’ve got to shake it off the best you can and try to get better. Quit dwelling in things that you can’t fix and fix what fixable. Somebody has to step up, grab ahold of the rope and help us win.”
The next opportunity on the way for the Patriots is Friday night at home for Senior Night. WA hosts Clinton Christian for a game that could go a long way into the Patriots working themselves into a playoff berth.
The Warriors enter 5-3 with a conference win over Canton already this season, but they’re coming in with something to prove like the Patriots after losses to Cathedral and Tri-County in consecutive weeks. There’s a lot for Byrd to game plan for after watching the film.
“They’re athletic. The quarterback is a really good player. We’re going to have to move around a bit and give them some different looks. If we let them get outside, we’ll have problems. Defensively, they’re going to try to bring pressure, so we’ve got to protect and establish the run. The inconsistency is our biggest issue right now.”
