Winona High School’s football team achieved its No. 1 goal last Saturday night by winning the Class 3A state championship with a thrilling 34-27 come-from-behind victory over Noxubee County at Ole Miss’ Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
The Tigers finished the season with a perfect 15-0 and claimed the school’s first-ever state title in football. The school’s only other appearance in a state championship game was in 2017 – a 41-26 loss to Taylorsville.
Winona trailed Noxubee County 19-6 at the half. After a few adjustments were made by the coaches during the break, the Tigers came out a different team in the final two quarters, outscoring Noxubee 28-8 to cap off their perfect season.
“We did not play well at all in the first half, but we made some changes on offense and defense at the half, and our guys just believed in each other in the second half and got the job done,” Winona’s 10th-year head coach Joey Tompkins said. “We knew we couldn’t sit back on defense any longer. The plan was to shut down their pass game and make them run the football. Obviously, that didn’t work. Our best players on defense are our linebackers.”
Aggressiveness was the name of the game in the second half.
“I told coach (Ben) Burton let’s send them on every play,” Tompkins continued. “Noxubee refused to run the football. Our attitude was whatever happens, happens. Our kids were determined to get the job done.”
The Tigers also relied on their offensive leader to take charge in the final 24 minutes.
“We also put the ball in Chase’s (Richardson) hands,” Thompkins added. “He’s the best player in the state – in my opinion – and we have relied on him all season. We needed to let him lead us.”
Richardson and the defense came through in a big way. The senior quarterback finished with 294 yards rushing on 28 carries and scored a total of four touchdowns. He also threw for 139 yards as he completed 10-of-21 pass attempts without an interception.
The defense, led by linebackers Fred Clark, Tyler Lockhart, A’jerrian Garrett, Miles Bailey and Eric Boone, harassed and knocked Noxubee County quarterback Kamario Taylor around in the second half. After tossing two touchdown passes in the first half and directing his team to a 13-point cushion, he managed only one touchdown pass with just over five minutes left in the contest.
“We knew we had to get pressure on their quarterback,” Clark, who has verbally committed to Mississippi State, said. “We fought through adversity and played for each other.”
Richardson was named the Player of the Game following the contest.
“We just had to believe in the second half and trust in each other,” the 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior said. “We weren’t playing the way we are capable of playing in the first half. We knew if the defense got a few stops in the second half, the offense would have to do its job. I believe in trusting in God, and I knew He would help us.”
The Tigers received the ball first to start the third quarter. After the kickoff, they had possession at their 27-yard line. On a fourth-and-one at the 36, Richardson picked up two yards for a first down. Two plays later, he completed a 40-yard pass to junior wide receiver Troylando Eden to reach Noxubee’s 16-yard line.
Richardson trotted into the end zone four plays later from 5 yards out, and senior Aubrey Bailey booted the extra point to make it 19-13 with 6:36 to go in the third quarter.
The Winona defense forced Noxubee to punt on its ensuing possession, and the offense took over at the 37-yard line. On a short third-and-one, Richardson broke loose for a 35-yard gain to Noxubee’s 11-yard line. Junior running back Zaishun Nash carried twice for six yards and Richardson finished off the six-play drive with a 2-yard run. Bailey made the PAT to make it 20-19 with 15 seconds remaining in the third frame.
Noxubee was forced to punt once again and Winona’s offense quickly punched the ball into the end zone as Richardson raced 51 yards at the 10:21 mark of the fourth period. Bailey’s extra point made it 27-19.
Noxubee County’s offense, which only had 22 yards rushing for the game, punted one more time, giving the Tigers the ball at their 31-yard line. Winona expanded its lead by the 6:35 mark as Nash broke loose for a 46-yard scoring jaunt. Bailey converted the PAT for a 34-19 advantage.
“I was focused on the end zone as I was running the ball,” Nash, who finished the game with 80 yards rushing on 12 carries, said. “This means so much to our school and team. We finished the year 15-0. We got here because of hard work. I’m ready to start on next season, and let’s do this again.”
Noxubee put together its last scoring drive on its next possession as Taylor directed his squad on a six-play, 75-yard score. He connected with wide receiver Dequadrion Welch from 58 yards out. The Tigers from Macon pulled off a little trickery for the 2-point conversion as Welch passed to Taylor to make it 34-27.
Taylor finished 25-of-41 passing for 352 yards and three touchdowns.
Winona proceeded to run off the final five minutes with Richardson primarily keeping the ball in his hands. The Tigers reached the Noxubee five-yard line and took a knee to end the game.
Winona’s first touchdown of the game came on its third possession as Richardson scored from 58 yards out for a 6-0 lead after the first. Noxubee scored once in the first and twice in the second period for its 19-6 lead at the half.
Boone, a senior linebacker, was wearing a brace on his left knee after going down two weeks prior to Saturday’s game with a torn ACL and MCL. He will have surgery Thursday to repair the tears.
“There was no way I was going to miss this game,” Boone, who had one solo stop, said. “I’m blessed to be a part of this team.”
Lockhart, a junior linebacker, had two solo tackles, five assists and one sack.
“We started playing better in the second half,” he said. “We made adjustmentments at the half. This means a lot to the whole school and town. This is an amazing feeling.”
Kam’ron Robinson, who plays receiver and defensive back, had seven solo stops and two assists. Yoshawn Hudson had four solos and two assists, and Javien Jackson III finished with three solo stops and one assist. Garrett had one solo tackle and three assists.
The Tigers will enjoy the victory for a short period before starting to prepare for next season.
“We will take a week off and get to work on next season,” Tompkins concluded. “This win puts Winona on the map. Words can’t describe the way I’m feeling right now. It’s been a long journey. I’m so proud of this group of young men.”
