Winona High School’s offense and defense put on quite the show in its season-opening 35-19 win over visiting Choctaw County High School Friday night at Tiger Field.
The Tigers were slated to play host to Kosciusko High School this week, but instead will host Newton County High School from Decatur Friday at 7 p.m. Kosciusko is on virtual learning and not able to play this week’s game.
“We needed a game and I contacted Coach (Bobby) Bass about playing,” said Winona head coach Joey Tompkins. “We’ve known each for a long time, so we flipped a coin to see who would be the host team.
“We will have our hands full with Newton. They hung in there for 31/2 quarters last week against West Lauderdale. I know they are well coached, fast and very physical up front. Their front is big and physical. Our guys will have to be prepared for a physical, hard-hitting game.”
Newton County dropped a 32-16 decision last week to West Lauderdale, which only led 13-10 at the half and 19-16 after the third quarter. A 13-point fourth period put the game away.
Against Choctaw County, the Tigers scored twice in the fourth quarter to seal the win over the Chargers from Ackerman.
“It was a tight game for three quarters, but I really felt like we dominated the game,” added Tompkins. “The only stats they beat us in was third-down conversions and number of plays. We also had three touchdowns called back. Those 21 points would have made a big difference in the game.”
Choctaw County was playing without several players who were still on quarantine. They had at least 15 players not able to play in the contest.
“I saw some different guys out there from their scrimmage. They moved their 6-foot-4 receiver to cornerback,” Tompkins said. “We shot ourselves in the foot with penalties and mistakes. We only had one turnover, but our defense had two picks and forced two fumbles. We did enough good things on offense and defense to win by three touchdowns.”
The Tigers’ offense definitely did its part. Senior running back Deriaun Townsend broke loose for 197 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries. He had three touchdowns called back. Townsend contributed in the passing game as he had two receptions for 79 yards with one touchdown, which was good from 69 yards out.
“Our goal is to get Deriaun at least 20 touches a game, and we did that when you look at the scores he had called back,” Tompkins said. “With a back like Deriaun, he only gets better as the game goes on.”
Senior quarterback Jekeyvion Burnley did his part under center as he completed 6-of-10 passes for 117 yards with two scores and one interception. He also ran for 68 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
Sophomore Danarius Robinson chipped in with 53 yards and a TD on six carries. Chase Richardson had two grabs for 16 yards, and Tristin Purnell and JJ Burt had one catch for 11 yards each.
As a team, Winona ran for 318 yards on 36 carries. With Burnley’s passing yardage, the Tigers had 435 yards of total offense.
Sophomore linebacker Fred Clark had seven solo stops and one assist. Senior defensive end Marlonzo Small had seven tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery. Chase Richardson had three tackles and caused a fumble, and Trey Cox and Ja’mes Bays had an interception apiece. Cox also recovered a fumble.
“That was one of our better games on defense,” the eighth-year coach said. “We controlled the line of scrimmage. Take three plays away, and we played a flawless game.
“There are things we still need to improve on. We see things on the sidelines where we’ve made a mistake and it kept us from having a big play. We’ve got to work hard at cutting down on penalties and mistakes. Also, we punted more times than I care for us too.”
The Tigers had four punts in the game.
