A strong performance by quarterback An'darius Coffey and the Tiger defense enabled Winona to remain unbeaten with a 21-3 victory over Calhoun City.
With a 9-0 record, Winona is one of two unbeaten 3A teams. Booneville is 8-0.
“The defense played really well,” said Coach Joey Tompkins. “We had some penalties that hurt us offensively. Stopped some drives.”
The Tigers took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a four-yard run by Coffey. Calhoun City pulled within 7-3 at the half on a McGreger Lee field goal. Winona added second half TDs on a fumble recovery by Malcolm Gholston in the end zone and a four-yard run by Jay Lofton.
Coffey accounted for more than half of Winona's 354 yards of offense. He was 10 of 13 passing for 103 yards and carried 19 times for 130 yards. Lofton had five carries for 58 yards, caught nine passes for 95 yards and returned one punt return for 15 yards.
Cade Eldridge was three for three on conversions and averaged 40.5 yards on two punts.
The defense held Calhoun City to 169 yards, including 168 on the ground. Chardarius Hill led the Wildcats with 10 carries for 55 yards. Calhoun City (5-4) completed three shovel passes for a net one yard.
Winona has held five opponents to seven or fewer points.
Jalen Campbell was the Tigers' defensive leader with 10 tackles, including one for a loss. Deterrious Williams had eight tackles, one behind the line.
With a 4-0 record in Region 5-3A, Winona is assured of being the region's top seed for the playoffs and can win the region outright with a road victory Friday against Choctaw Central. Choctaw Central is 1-9, but snapped a 32-game losing streak with a 36-20 victory over Kemper County two weeks ago. The Warriors top threat is senior quarterback Bryce Bill who has run and passed for 2,049 yards and 18 touchdowns.
The Tigers final regular season game will be Oct. 26 at Kosciusko, a 4A school.
Winona will host the fourth place team from 8-3A when the playoffs begin Nov. 2. A 1 seed against a 4 seed is often a mismatch, but Tompkins said that will not be the case because 8-3A is so strong.
“There's not a minute difference in the top five teams in that district. I think it's the best in 3A.”
He pointed out that West Marion, the team that might finish fourth, lost 13-6 against defending state champion Jefferson Davis County.
“We'll have a lot of work to do to get out of the first round.”
