Winona Christian Coach Junior Graham had been hearing that Indianola wasn’t as good as they have been in recent years.
Graham said that was just a lot of talk.
The Colonels scored the game’s first 35 points and cruised to a 35-6 win over the Stars, handing them their second straight loss. With the loss, the Stars fall to 5-3 on the season while Indianola improves to 8-1.
Despite the loss, Graham wasn’t down on his team.
“I thought we played a pretty physical game,” Graham said. “It was one of those deals where there is a big gap between their team and our team. Our kids played hard and were physical with them. They were just bigger than us and imposed their will on us.”
Graham said he did see some bright spots in the game.
“We hit them, it was really physical,” Graham said. “On the first drive, they were driving, and we came up and strike the big running back hard and caused him to fumble. We didn’t get it but we didn’t back down physically from them, and that’s what I’m proud of. We played a lot of kids and early in the game. We looked at some guys in positions that will give us some depth down the road.”
Indianola used a steady supply of offense and a stingy defense to build a 28-0 halftime lead as they scored 14 in the first and 14 in the second quarter.
The Colonels scored their last touchdown in the third on a 15-yard run to start the running clock.
Indianola had 358 yards rushing and 109 yards passing for 467 yards of total offense.
“Offensively, there weren’t many bright spots,” Graham said. “They had the best group of linebackers that I have seen since I have been in this league. They make you throw the football. They always bring four or five guys at you and are really disruptive.”
Winona had 87 yards rushing and 126 total yards. Their lone score came on a Latham Hill 1-yard run in the fourth.
Hayden Self led the rushing attack with 40 yards rushing while Hill was 8-of-11 passing for 38 yards. Choyce Diffey had five catches for 41 yards.
On defense, Blake Marlow had 12 tackles while Bradley Pinkard and Colby Marlow each had nine tackles with Dalton Wiggins chipping in eight stops.
The Stars will hit the road this week for the short trip to Carroll Academy as they take on the 6-2 Rebels with a shot at the District 1-AA championship on the line.
The Stars are 3-0 in district play so far with wins over Oak Hill (36-10), Central Holmes (20-12) and Marshall (32-14).
The Rebels are 6-2 overall and 2-0 in district play and are coming off a 37-6 over Marshall. They beat Oak Hill 28-0 earlier this season. The Rebels also have wins over Benton (38-0), Lee (39-12), Kirk (33-7) and Newton County (25-6). Their losses have come to Pillow (36-0) and Tunica (38-16).
“If we can find a way to win, it would be for the district championship,” Graham said. “This will be my fourth Carroll game and the previous three have been festive environments. It’s a like a playoff game and will be easy to coach those kids this week and I’m sure it will be the same for Carroll.”
Graham said he feels like the two teams are evenly matched.
“We are mirror images of each other on offense,” Graham said. “They want to shorten the game and do a good job on first down. You don’t see them in third and long a lot. They are big up front and have some really good athletes. Honestly, it’s one of those games where penalties will play a huge role. With our offenses, second and long will get you out of what you want to do. A five-yard penalty is a big deal in this game.”
Last year, Winona Christian won 20-14.
