Winona Christian saw its football season come to an end on Friday night at top-seeded Riverfield.
The Stars trailed 13-7 at the half before the Raiders scored 23 second-half points to take a 36-7 win in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs.
Winona Christian ends the season with a 9-3 record.
First-year coach Ashley Kuhn said the Stars had a chance to make it close but the Raiders were too much to handle.
“I thought we played really well in the first half,” Kuhn said. “We were a little overmatched and once we got behind, we just couldn’t catch up. They were big and physical but our kids played hard. They are a good team with a lot of seniors and it won’t surprise me if they win it all. We just aren’t quite there yet. But it was a great year. We went 9-3 and bring back a lot of starters next year. If you had told me at the beginning of the year that we would win nine games and be in the second round, I would have taken that. I am proud of our kids and they laid a foundation going forward.”
Riverfield got the ball to start the game and scored to take an early 6-0 lead. Winona responded with a scoring drive of their own as Brannon Hill scored on a 40-yard run. The PAT by Cannon Fisakerly was good and Winona Christian led 7-6 in the first quarter.
Riverfield added another score in the second quarter to retake the lead at 13-7. Winona then drove to the Riverfield 1-yard line before the half but the Stars failed to score as Riverfield maintained its 13-7 lead at the half.
“That was really big when we weren’t able to score before the half,” Kuhn said. “We got it to the 1-yard line and didn’t score. We had a chance to tie it there and couldn’t get it done. I think if we score right there, it’s a different game.”
Winona receiving the kick to start the second half but fumbled and. Riverfield answered with a score and two-point conversion and took a 21-7 lead.
“That was another killer,” Kuhn said. “We fumbled the second-half kick and they punch it in to go up 21-7. From there, we were behind and in catchup mode. We took some chances and they just continued to pound the ball right at us. We had been a lot of bend but don’t break in the first half. When you don’t score to end the half and then fumble the kick to start the second half, it just kind of deflates you.”
Riverfield continued to add to its lead with two more second-half scores for the final margin.
The Stars struggled on offense and ran just 29 offensive plays. Hill was 7-of-14 passing for 66 yards. Hill also rushed for 56 yards on four carries while Will Irwin had 39 yards on 10 carries.
Irwin had 28 yards receiving on three catches while Johnny Greene had 26 yards on three catches.
On defense, Holland Self led the Stars with 16 tackles while Hill had 12 tackles. Jase Osborne had 10 tackles while Austin Horne had nine tackles. Austin Wiggins and Preston Fletcher each had seven tackles while Braxton Leach and Irwin each had six tackles. Greene, Hunter Land, Luke Beckwith and Kaleb King each had five tackles apiece.
