After cruising to three wins to open the season, the Winona Christian School Stars faced their toughest challenge thus far last Friday night as they faced perennial power Leake Academy in Madden.
Heading into the contest, WCS second-year head coach Ashley Kuhn knew the best shot his team would have to keep the game close would be to shorten the game by running the football. The strategy worked for a half as the Rebels led only 14-0.
It was a different story in the second half as Kuhn was forced to change their approach. The Rebels broke the game open, winning a 35-7 decision.
With the loss, Winona Christian School drops to 3-1 on the season.
“I thought our guys played hard and did a good job of executing our game plan in the first half,” Kuhn said. “We were trying to run the clock and were able to keep it 14-0 at the half. On our first drive, we had a turnover after having the football for eight minutes. Once we got down by two scores, we had to shift gears with what we were trying to do. Give them credit, they have an outstanding football team. We haven’t faced a passing game like this since I’ve been here.”
Leake Academy senior quarterback George B. Wilcox finished 11-of-15 for 207 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, he finished with 33 yards and one score. Junior Garrett Adcock added a 47-yard touchdown and senior John David Gill scored on a 7-yard run.
The Stars finished the night with 138 yards of offense. Senior Will Irwin led the WCS ground attack with 45 yards on 15 carries and scored the lone touchdown on 10-yard run in the fourth quarter. Junior Alston Crouch kicked the extra point for Winona Christian.
Defensively, senior Holland Self led the Stars with four tackles, six assists, two tackles for losses and a sack. Sophomore Luke Beckwith finished with three tackles and four assists.
The Stars return home this week to face last year’s Class AAA runner-up Marshall Academy. This season, the Patriots are 2-1 on the season following last week’s 50-30 win over Lee Academy of Clarksdale in a game played in Holly Springs.
Kuhn expects another stiff challenge this week for his team.
“Marshall is a talented team that has scored a lot of points this season,” Kuhn concluded. “They were a good team last year, but I think they are better this year. It will be another challenge for our team this week.”
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
