The delays just keep coming for the Winona Tiger football team.
The Tigers were scheduled to play Senatobia last Friday night in a two-quarter scrimmage, but that was cancelled because of rain.
“We were playing there, and they had a good bit of rain and were going to get some more and decided not to play,” Winona Coach Joey Tompkins said. “It is what it is, and I can’t do anything about it. It’s not what I wanted, but it’s what I got. Obviously, I would have liked to have played, but we’ll come back this week and get to work on Kosciusko.”
Aside from the cancelled scrimmage, Tompkins said it was a good week of practice leading up to Friday.
“I thought we had a really good week,” Tompkins said. “We got rained on one day, but it wasn’t anything from keeping us from playing. We were able to get some stuff done and build off what we had from the week before. We don’t have everything in, but we are farther along than we were last year at this time and that’s a good thing.”
This week’s game
The Tigers will open the season with a stern test as they take on Class 4A Kosciusko on Friday night.
Last year, the Tigers took a hard-fought 35-28 win over the Whippets. Unlike the Tigers, the Whippets were able to play a scrimmage last week.
“I did get to go see them in person against East Webster,” Tompkins said. “They have some really good players and really good skill people. They have the (Antonio) Harmon kid who is a Division I player and some other really good skill people around him. They are big up front. We will have our hands full, that’s for sure.”
The Whippets feature one of the state’s top players in Antonio Harmon, who has multiple Division I offers from the likes of Texas, LSU, Louisville and Mississippi State. Last year, Harmon had four catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns. He also had nine tackles on defense.
“We have been playing against him for the last three years, we know all about him,” Tompkins said. “He is a good player. He scored a couple of times against us last year. He could score six on us this year, and it wouldn’t surprise me. He is the real deal on defense as well. He is good at everything he does. We are very young on defense, and he will be a challenge for us.”
The Whippets have a new coach this season in Casey Orr, who took over after a successful run at Noxapater.
“For the most part, they were in doubles and trips, and threw it around a good bit,” Tompkins said. “They have a good running back, and the quarterback is really accurate throwing the football. We just have so many question marks. Not being able to play in a scrimmage really hurts us. At least they know what they have, and we don’t, so I think they have an advantage in that aspect.”
