Winona Christian football coach Junior Graham knew the matchup with Central Holmes was a critical one.
In a back-and-forth contest, the Stars scored last as they took a 20-12 win over Central Holmes in a key District 1-AA contest.
“It’s always big to get a win in the district,” Graham said. “We talked about playing a conference game this early and how important it was to come out and play. There were times when neither team executed very well. But our kids came out and played well in the second half. So far, we have been a solid second-half team. Even when we lost at French Camp, we played well in the second half. But I thought it was big that we won and didn’t play our best. That’s always reassuring.”
Central Holmes got the ball to start the game and drove down the field on the Stars, but the drive stalled when the Trojans got to the 10 and snapped the ball over the quarterback’s head.
“I was worried there,” Graham said. “We were on our heels. They were moving the ball on us and I didn’t think we were going to stop them. They got to the 10 and went to the wildcat and snapped the ball over the guy’s head and we were able to get the stop. That was huge.”
Winona answered with a long drive of their own as Holland Ingram scored on a 5-yard run. Latham Hill ran in the two-point conversion and WCS led 8-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Central Holmes got its break in the second quarter when they pinned Winona Christian deep in their own territory. After a short punt, the Trojan scored on a 1-yard run. The PAT was blocked and Winona led 8-6.
“We had all the momentum and then pinned us deep at our half-yard line,” Graham said. “We gave them a short field and they scored to get the momentum back. We had another drive and gave them the ball back and we didn’t have an answer for 20 and 4. They were moving the ball until we made some changes on defense at halftime.”
Central Holmes added another touchdown in the second period and led 12-8 at the half.
After a scoreless third period, Winona added two fourth-quarter scores to put the game away as Corley Goss scored on a 14-yard run and finished the Trojans off with a 45-yard run.
“In the second half, we ran a lot more to the weak side where we had numbers,” Graham said. “We just kept on running the same play over and over. I don’t believe in running a lot of plays if something works. I thought we grew up a little bit but still have a long ways to go.”
Graham was proud of his defense for shutting out the Trojans in the second half.
“We showed a little diversity on defense,” Graham said. “We were able to change our front around from snap to snap. I was worried about their vertical passing game but they only completed three passes for 18 yards. We were really pleased with the way the secondary played. And we forced three turnovers, which was big. Two of those were in the second half.”
The Stars had 311 yards of total offense with 232 on the ground and 79 passing. Corley Goss had 148 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns, while Choyce Diffey had one catch for 60 yards from Dalton Wiggins.
The Stars will get right back to division play as they host Oak Hill.
The Raiders are 2-1 on the season after opening with a 21-0 win over Deer Creek and a 9-7 win over Newton County Academy in week 2. Last week, the Raiders lost 30-14 to Tunica Academy.
“They are a typical Oak Hill team,” Graham said. “They are very scrappy. They are not impressive to the eye as far as being real big. But the thing that jumps out is the effort they play with. They have a bunch of gritty kids. They are a lot like us, they try to shorten the game. Their defense has been solid the last couple of years.”
Last year, the Raiders beat Winona 14-0.
