The Winona Christian Stars won their second straight game last week.
The Stars overcame an early 14-0 deficit and pulled away late to take a 40-28 win over Oak Hill on Friday night.
Winona Christian improves to 2-1 on the season and will host Benton Academy this week.
After winning just three games last year, the Stars won their second straight this season. Head coach Ken Chandler said the Stars are getting better every week.
“We are improving and the kids are playing hard and believe in what we are dong,” Chandler said. “Offensively, we are ahead of where I thought we would be. Move Jake (Ware) to running back has been a great move. He has had two great weeks. We cut his touches down this week and that’s a lot better. I was pleased with my sophomore quarterback. He finished off the game at the end for us and threw the ball well.”
The Stars fell behind early as Oak Hill scored on its first two possession and led 14-0. But the Stars got a break on Oak Hill’s third possession when they recovered a fumble. Jake Ware finished off the drive with a 3-yard run to cut into the lead. The try for two failed and Oak Hill led 14-6.
The Stars then scored late in the second quarter when Brannon Hill hit Collin Parkinson on a 62-yard touchdown pass. The try for two failed and Oak Hill held a slim 14-12 lead.
The Stars got the ball back on the ensuing kick when the recovered a pooch kick. The Stars then found the end zone again as Hill hit Parkinson on a 27-yard touchdown pass. Ware ran in the two-point conversion and Winona led 20-14 at the half.
“We struggled to tackle in the first half,” Chandler said. “Their back was about 185 pounds and a decent player and we just couldn’t tackle him. But they had three turnovers and we didn’t have any. We’ve got to tackle better at linebacker and not put ourselves in a hole.”
Oak Hill returned the favor in the kicking when they kicked deep and recovered the ball at the Winona Christian 3. Two plays later, the Raiders scored and made the PAT to go back up 21-20.
The Stars were forced to punt on their first possession and Oak Hill punched in another score to make the score 28-20.
Winona finally got going in the third as Ware scored on a 46-yard run. The try for two failed and the Raiders held a 28-26 lead, a lead that lasted until the fourth.
The Stars took the lead back early in the fourth when Ware scored on a 3-yard run and ran in the two-point conversion to retake the lead at 34-28.
The Winona Christian defense came up with a stop and the offense took over at the Oak Hill 35 with four minutes left in the game. Hill then scored on a 19-yard run and the PAT failed for the final margin of 40-28.
“After going through last year, it would have been easy for this group to quit after they got down,” Chandler said. “But they didn’t quit. Our guys are getting in shape and starting to give us better minutes. We are still struggling on defense but are getting better each week and somebody else is stepping up each week.”
The Stars had 238 yards rushing and 151 passing for 389 total yards. Hill was 11-of-20 passing for 151 yards and two TDs while rushing for 39 yards on eight carries. Ware had 191 yards rushing on 21 carries and three TDs along with 27 yards receiving on three catches. Parkinson had five catches for 100 yards and two TDs.
Bryce Harville had six solo tackles and three assists along with a sack and a fumble recovery. Collin Moore had two solo tackles, 10 assists and a sack.
This week’s game
The Stars look to pick up their first district win of the season as they host winless Benton on Friday night.
Benton is 0-3 with losses to Sylva Bay (34-0), Oak Hill (37-0) and Lee (49-6).
“Kenny (Burton) is a heck of a coach but just doesn’t have a lot this year,” Chandler said. “They will play hard and run the ball well. They moved the ball well on Oak Hill, they just didn’t have any explosive stuff. They are really young and don’t have a lot of numbers, kind of like us. We just have to go in there like any other game and go play hard. I know we have won a couple of games but we aren’t that team that can just show up and win.”
