After two weeks off in quarantine, the Winona Tigers didn’t have long to prepare for the Kossuth Aggies.
So veteran Coach Joey Tompkins did what he knows best, and that’s hand the ball off to Deriaun Townsend.
The junior running back answered the call with a career night as he rushed for 269 yards on 20 carries and scored six touchdowns to take a 48-33 win in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.
The Tigers improve to 7-1 on the season and will host Senatobia on Friday night in a second-round playoff match.
Tompkins knew his team was in for a challenge against an offensive-minded Kossuth team.
“We were happy to get the win, but we will have to play better this week, that’s for sure,” Tompkins said. “Offensively, I thought we played pretty well running the ball. I thought we controlled the line of scrimmage on offense. Offensively, we did what we wanted to do and had a good night running the ball. It was just one of those night where they never really stopped us.”
In a fast-paced first quarter, the Tigers struck first when Deriaun Townsend scored on a five-yard run. The PAT failed and Winona led 6-0.
Kossuth answered back with an eight-yard run and converted the two-point attempt to take an 8-6 lead.
The Tigers quickly moved down field and scored on a 35-yard run by Townsend. The Tigers converted the two-point conversion to take the lead back at 14-8.
The Aggies took the lead back with a three-yard run and hit the PAT to lead 15-14.
But Townsend scored on a four-yard run on the ensuing possession, and the Tigers led 20-15 at the end of the first quarter and never trailed again.
The Tigers continued to add to the lead as Townsend scored on a 19-yard run. The try-for-two failed, and Winona led 26-15.
Winona came up with a stop on defense and found the end zone again as Chase Richardson scored on a 22-yard run. Noah Durham kicked the PAT and Winona led 33-15.
Kossuth scored before the end of the half on a nine-yard pass and Winona led 33-21 at the half.
“Defensively, it looked like we were off for three weeks,” Tompkins said. “They were more physical than we were at the point of attack. We have to do a better job of stopping the run at the point of attack. They never stop us, and we didn’t do a good job of stopping them. But we did get three turnovers, and that was really the difference in the game.”
Kossuth cut the score to one score as they scored on a two-yard run. The PAT attempt failed, and Winona held a 33-27 lead.
But Townsend got cranked up again as the junior running back scored on a 60-yard run. The try-for-two was good and Winona led 41-27 at the end of the third.
“They only lined up to punt one time and it was a fake,” Tompkins said. “We only punted once, and they roughed the kicker. And honestly, I don’t remember us having that many third downs. We were getting yards in chunks.”
The Tigers put the game away in the fourth as Townsend scored his sixth touchdown of the night with a three-yard run. Durham converted the PAT as Winona led 48-27.
Kossuth rounded out the scoring with a one-yard run for the final of 48-33.
“I don’t think conditioning was every really a problem,” Tompkins said. “We’ve only got one guy going both ways so I never thought we got tired. I was pleased with that. You could tell we had been off for three weeks. We didn’t throw the ball very well. We weren’t very good in the passing game but that has a lot to do with the time off.”
The Tigers rushed for 384 yards and had 62 yards passing. Townsend had 269 yards on 20 carries with six touchdowns and also had one catch for 33 yards. Richardson had seven carries for 81 yards and a TD and was 2-of-9 passing for 62 yards but threw two interceptions. Robert McMath had one catch for 29 yards.
On defense Khristian Williams had eight solo tackles and three assists with two tackles for loss. Marlonzo Small had seven tackles and three assists. The Tigers also got assists from Irvie Bays, Robert McMatch and Dadarian Small.
The Tigers will play at home again this week as they host Senatobia on Friday night in second round action.
The Warriors are 7-3 on the season with losses to Lake Cormorant (14-10) and North Panola (20-14). They have wins over Itawamba (28-13), Kossuth (49-22), Holly Springs (56-12), Byhalia (35-7), Independence (35-14) and Water Valley (44-14). Last week, the Warriors beat Houston 7-6 in their first-round playoff game.
“They are a good football team, the second best team we have played this year,” Tompkins said. “They are well coached and very physical up front. They have a good quarterback and are really good on defense. I told our kids today that we could play pretty good and get beat. I think we will have to play our best game to win. They have some really good linemen on both sides and we will have to play better than we did last week.”
