The Winona Christian Stars put on a dominating performance in the opening round of the Class AA playoffs last week.
The Stars outgunned visiting Amite 346-33 in total yardage as the Stars cruised to a solid 43-0 win.
The Stars improve to 8-3 on the season and will have a sound test in the second round of the Class AA playoffs against Centreville, who is coming off a solid 40-14 win over Carroll Academy.
Veteran coach Junior Graham said he was proud of the effort from his team.
“Even thought it was a very weak opponent, I thought we played well, we really did,” Graham said. “They were one of those teams that do a lot of stuff but none of it was very good. They ran all sorts of formations and our defensive line really dominated that side of the football. Then on offense, we just went out and executed our game plan in a manner that you want against an inferior opponent. Our kids did that in all phases of the game.”
The Stars were hitting on all cylinders in the first quarter as they put three touchdowns on the board. Corley Goss scored all three touchdowns in the first with runs of 5 and 37 yards as well as a 25-yard pass from Latham Hill as the Stars led 21-0 at the end of the first.
Goss added a 3-yard run in the second quarter and Blake Marlow booted a 25-yard field goal as Winona led 30-0 at the half.
The Stars started to empty the bench in the second half and scored one TD in each quarter as Dalton Wiggins scored on a 67-yard run in the third and Kyle Nabors scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth.
“We played all of our kids and subbed most of the second half,” Graham said. “We played an eighth grade quarterback in the second half and got him some playoff experience. Those are good situations. I felt like giving up just three yards in the first half, if we couldn’t hold a 30-point lead, we needed to lose the game.”
The Stars had 248 yards rushing and 98 passing for 346 yards of total offense. Wiggins had 80 yards on five carries while Goss had 73 yards rushing on 12 carries and one TDs. Hill was 6-of-12 passing for 89 yards and one TD while Goss had two catches for 29 yards.
On defense, the Stars allowed just 33 yards as Amite ran just 22 plays. Hayden Self led the defense with 13 tackles while Thomas Costilow and Holland Ingram each had 10 tackles apiece.
The Stars don’t get any breaks this week as they host traditional power Centreville.
The Tigers are the No. 7 seed overall and come in with a 6-5 record after a sound 40-14 win over Carroll Academy last week.
The Tigers enter the playoffs with a 6-5 record but have played a rugged schedule. Their losses have been to Oak Forest (42-0), Parklane (45-14), Bowling Green (45-28), Brookhaven (23-22) and Silliman (56-20). They have wins over North Delta (24-6), Ben’s Ford (40-0), Central Private (16-8), Amite (46-19) and Clinton Christian (36-16).
Graham, a veteran of many rough football games, knows what his team is in store with when a physical Centreville teams comes to Winona on Friday night.
“You had better put the women and children up, it’s going to be a blood letting,” Graham said. “Their offensive line comes off the ball old school with a low pad level. I hate we are going to watch it first hand. They are a good football team and there are no bad ones left in 2A at this point.”
Graham said after watching the film on Centreville, he is impressed with the style of the football the Tigers use.
“Their defensive line is good,” Graham said. “They were in the Carroll backfield all night long. They aren’t big, but they play the way you are supposed to play and that is hard. They haven’t had a culture change down there in forever. Their kids have bought into that style of football and that has to do a lot with the continuity at the head coaching position.”
