Winona High School first-year sophomore starting quarterback Landon Crawford didn’t wait long to have his coming-out performance as he spearheaded the Tigers to a come-from-behind 39-29 victory over Newton County High School last Friday to kick off the 2024 season at Tiger Stadium.
“Landon works really hard at what is the toughest position to play on the field,” said Winona coach Joey Tompkins. “He is replacing the 3A player of the year, and we have not put pressure on him. He puts all the pressure on himself. Landon did a great job of creating a lot of his runs. He’s 15-years old, so he really hasn’t matured yet fully, and he ran the ball like he was 190 pounds and not 160.
“He is a very confident kid, and our kids showed how much they appreciated his play after the game. The seniors were all saying they won this game because of him. They have great confidence in him.”
Crawford, who is listed at 5-foot-9, 160, scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter with Winona trailing 29-26. He scored from 16 and four yards out in the fourth and finished with five rushing touchdowns and one passing score. On the night, he rushed for 160 yards on 18 carries and was 12-of-18 passing for 193 yards.
Newton led 7-0 early, but the Tigers got their first score on a 16-yard pass from Crawford to Troylando Eden. A missed extra point made it 7-6 after one.
In the second frame, Crawford scored from two yards out and ran in for the 2-point conversion. Newton scored later in the period but missed the PAT to trail 14-13 at the break.
Both teams got into the end zone twice in the third frame. The Tigers scored on runs of 47 and 56 yards by Crawford, and the Cougars scored on a 31-yard run and a 98-yard kickoff return. Newton also had two 2-point conversion runs to lead 29-26 headed to the fourth.
The Tigers finished with 402 yards of total offense to Newton’s 212. They were 10-of-13 on third-down attempts and did not turn the ball over.
“We knew it was going to be a battle because it was two teams who are trying to get better,” said Tompkins. “Our kids played hard, but we made a lot of mistakes. Our goal is to get better every week and be clicking by time we get to the seventh week when district starts. We are going to be tested each week because we are playing a very competitive schedule.”
Zaishun Nash contributed 65 yards on 18 carries. Eden finished with seven receptions for 132 yards, and Demarion Hudson had three grabs for 38 yards. Nash had one catch for 15 yards.
Jakorrius Harvey led the defense for the Tigers with six solo stops and nine assists. A’jerrian Garrett had three solos, 11 assists and a fumble recovery, and Tommarion Brown finished with three solos, 10 assists and an interception.
Tyler Lockhart tallied three solos, six assists and one sack, and D.J. Forrest had one solo, seven assists and two sacks. Zaire Woods finished with two solos, four assists and a sack, and Tig Oliver had six total tackles (one solo, five assists).
Winona hits the road this week to take on the Class 6A Chargers of Grenada High School, who opened their season with a 38-24 loss to Oak Grove last week.
“Grenada is a good team, and they will be one of the best teams in 6A this year,” added Tompkins. “They have a lot of players back from last year. They played Oak Grove a tough game, and Oak Grove is the top team in the state.
“Grenada will be well coached, and they are sound on offense and defense. They have a big offensive line, a good running back and a 6-foot-5 wide receiver. We are going to show up and give it our best to win this game.”
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Friday in Grenada.
