Everything went according to plan for the Winston Academy Patriots on the gridiron on Friday night as the jamboree games commenced and teams went through the final tune up of the preseason.
As someone who prefers winning over breaking even, head coach Pat Byrd would have taken different results than what they got in a 0-0 tie against Sylva Bay and a 7-7 standoff. All things considered, though, he saw what he wanted to see from his young team. Most importantly, the team looked significantly better than they did a year ago at this time.
“We were pleased. The kids played hard and were organized and no one was hurt. It was a good trip,” Byrd said. “(The jamboree) is what it was, a quarter against two different teams. But all we talked about was playing fast and if you make a mistake it’s ok. It was an improvement on last year for sure.
“I think the biggest difference is just understanding what’s expected of them a little bit more. They came in late last year and I didn’t have much of an offseason with them. You can tell a difference between a year’s time. They’re hungry and want some success. So far, so good.”
What’s next, or first in the official case, is a much different challenge than what they saw. The Patriots might have jumped out of the district with Heritage Academy, Starkville Academy and Leake Academy, but the long-standing rivalry with the Rebels from Leake will continue in a non-conference game at home this week.
It’s a rivalry in the sense that the two schools don’t like each other and have gone head to head in many sports for many years, but the game has been rather lopsided in recent years. Leake has won the last 11 games against WA with the last win for the Patriots coming in 2008. During that time, a few of the games have been close including two of the last three being within a couple of touchdowns.
Last season, WA was within striking distance in the first half but Leake ran away with a 43-8 victory. Byrd is expecting a lot of new faces on this team but the same mindset.
“They’re going to be very physical. They lost some skill guys, but they have some good young guys coming up,” Byrd said. “On the line of scrimmage they’ve got most of those guys back. They’re playing with a lot of confidence. I think it’ll be a good test and see where everybody is at.
“Last year for a quarter and a half we were pretty good. It was a one score game going towards halftime and we threw a pick six right before the end of the half and it snowballed on us.”
Whether the Patriots win or lose on Friday - and Byrd would prefer to win - he wants to see a team with a different kind of swagger on the field than the 2-8 Patriots from a year ago. Winston has taken its lumps in recent years and he and his team are ready to turn that page.
“I want to see great effort, regardless of what the situation is. If it’s a good play, move on. If it’s a bad play, flush that sucker and go make another one,” Byrd said. “We’ve got to take care of the ball and control what we control.”
