One thing is for certain, by the time the Winona Christian Stars get done with their regular-season football schedule, they will be well tested.
“There isn’t going to be a weak team in our league or on our schedule for that matter,” WCS coach Junior Graham said. “I will put our schedule up against anybody. When you look at it as a whole, there are a lot of tough games there. Our division, top to bottom, is really good.
The Stars will open the season at home with French Camp, a team that beat them 36-34 last year.
“You never know what you are going to get in French Camp, especially early on,” Graham said. “You never know who they have coming back or who has come in. But you know they will be well-coached. Playing them early is tough.”
Then the Stars will travel to Ethel to take on the Tigers, whom they beat 52-20 last year.
“They have a new coach, and we have played them in seven on seven a couple of times this summer,” Graham said. “They have some really good skill people and the coaching staff is energetic. They will present us some issues as well.”
Then in week 3, the Stars will host division rival Central Holmes. Last year, the Stars pounded the Trojans 40-14.
“They have improved a lot and have a tremendous running back and return a veteran team,” Graham said. “It’s a big game for us. It’s the third game of the year, and you are playing one of your big rival in a big district game. That’s something different for me that I’ve had to get used to.”
The Stars then have another division contest with Oak Hill, a team that beat them 14-0 last year.
“That’s one of those games that we won statistically, expect for the turnovers,” Graham said. “We had six turnovers and gave up a special teams score. We let that one slip away. Oak Hill played well, but we felt like we let that one get away from us.”
The Stars will then step out of division play to take on AAA Park Place, a team they beat 16-14 last year.
“We recovered a ball for a safety with about two minutes to go,” Graham said. “They are a big AAA school and have good skill people. It’s a number game with them. They have a big wide receiver that can flat out run.”
Then the Stars will head out for the long road trip to Marshall Academy. Last year, the Stars lost a 21-14 contest to the Patriots.
“We had a chance in that game,” Graham said. “We dropped a ball in the end zone that would have tied the game with about three minutes in the game. We may have played our best game and still got beat.”
The Stars will then enter a two-game stretch in which they host Class AAA Bayou and AAA powerhouse Indianola.
“Bayou had one guy that beat us last year,” Graham said. “He scored five of their six touchdowns. And Indianola is one of the best teams in Class AAA. They are a well-coached. They have had continuity on their coaching staff and you don’t see a ton of that in this league.”
Then on Oct. 12, the Stars will make the short trek to Carroll to take on the rival Rebels.
“He has a good number of players back,” Graham said. “They are well-coached and will play hard. We have some big games on the road this year and this is certainly one of them.”
The Stars then finish out the regular season against Winston, one of Graham’s former teams.
“I think it’s a bigger game for them,” Graham said. “I wasn’t at Winston long enough (for it to be a rivalry). They beat us pretty good last year and have a new coach this year.”
