Winona Christian football coach Junior Graham made a few changes on offense last week, and they paid big dividends on Friday night.
Sophomore Dalton Wiggins had a monster night as he rushed for 133 yards and scored three touchdowns as the Stars beat Ethel 39-14 for their first win of the season.
“I thought we played with a lot better effort this week, and that was obvious by the score,” Graham said. “We made a few changes on both sides of the ball and that helped us significantly. We didn’t play a complete game, but we played much better than we did the week before.”
With Wiggins leading the run, the Stars were better on offense as they rushed for 250 yards and threw for 62 for 312 total yards.
“I thought our offensive line grew as the game went on,” Graham said “For us to get better, the line has to get some chemistry, and we started to see that in the second half. Some of the guys are playing totally different positions. We knew it would take a little while to get that chemistry. It’s starting to come together.”
The Stars jumped out early as they scored two first-quarter touchdowns. The first was a three-yard touchdown run by Latham Hill. Choyce Diffey booted the PAT, and Winona led 7-0.
Wiggins then scored on a 12-yard run, and the PAT failed as the Stars led 13-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The Stars scored once in the second quarter as Hill hit Corley Goss on a 14-yard touchdown pass. The two-point try failed, and Winona Christian led 19-7 at the half.
“I thought we spread the ball around,” Graham said. “I thought our quarterback managed the game. We ran him some and tried to slowly get him into the flow of being the guy at quarterback. He is getting better on a weekly basis and that has to continue.”
The Stars continued to add to their offensive total in the third as Wiggins scored on a 13-yard run, and WCS entered the fourth with a 25-14 lead.
The Stars put the game away in the final quarter when Wiggins scored on a 75-yard run. Hill ran in the two-point conversion, and Winona Christian led 33-14.
Holland Ingram scored the Stars’ last touchdown on an 11-yard run for the final points.
Ethel had 202 yards rushing and 20 yards passing for 222 total yards.
“Defensively, our linebackers as a whole had a good ball game,” Graham said. “We forced five turnovers, and that’s always a big plus. The defense helped give us a short field twice, and we were able to capitalize on that. They flipped the field for us several times and were very physical. It’s a ball game midway through the third when we got a big interception by Hayden Self. That was a game changer.”
Self led the defense with 11 tackles and an interception while Colby Marlow had 10 tackles.
The Stars will open up district play this week as they take on Central Holmes in a key contest.
The Trojans are 2-0 on the season as they beat Amite 36-22 and Deer Creek 34-0.
“They are really good,” Graham said. “They are probably the most diversified team that we have played. They run a lot of formations, and you can’t just lock in on one guy. They throw the vertical ball which we haven’t seen a lot.”
The winner of the game is in the driver’s seat early in division play.
“It’s a big district game,” Graham said. “I just don’t get it. It’s our third game, and you have to play back-to-back division games. I’ve been used to playing those games at the end of the year. Of course, Central Holmes is in the same boat as us.”
Last year, Winona Christian took a 40-14 win against Central Holmes.
