The first drive of the football season for the Winona Tigers looked as bad as a coach could imagine.
And after falling behind 7-0 early to Class 4A Kosciusko, the Tigers settled down and used a four-touchdown effort from Deriaun Townsend to take a 49-39 win over the Whippets on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
Winona improves to 1-0 on the season and will travel to J.Z. George this week.
In a high-scoring affair, Winona Coach Joey Tompkins was glad to get away with a win.
“I was just glad to go out there and get a win,” Tompkins said. “I thought we controlled the game and were able to run the ball successfully. We were able to run power and the buck sweep and get out on the perimeter. We did some good things, and there are some things we are going to have to correct. We have to block to the whistle and play every play.”
The Whippets got on the board first after a short punt by the Tigers gave Kosciusko a short field. The Whippets scored on a 17-yard touchdown pass to Azikwe Mays to go up 7-0.
“You could tell we didn’t play in a scrimmage,” Tompkins said. “That first drive looked terrible, it was a nightmare. We fumbled a snap and even the punt was bad. But we settled down and were able to control the game and get a lead. They have a good group of seniors who beat us pretty good in junior high. I was proud of our effort.”
The Tigers answered as Deriaun Townsend scored on a 7-yard run, and Noah Durham booted the PAT to tie the game at 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.
The Winona offense started to pick up steam in the second quarter as Townsend scored on a 4-yard pass from Jekeyvion Burnley. Durham’s PAT gave Winona a14-7 lead early in the second quarter.
The Tigers extended their lead as Townsend scored on a 57-yard run for his third touchdown of the half. The PAT failed and Winona led 20-7.
The Whippets answered back with a 16-yard pass to Mays to cut the lead to 20-14 at the half.
The Tigers added three more scores in an action-packed third quarter. The first came from Townsend who got free on a 69-yard touchdown run. Townsend also ran in the two-point conversion as the Tigers led 28-14.
The Whippets cut the score to one score on an 8-yard touchdown pass to make the score 28-21.
But the Tigers answered back as Burnley hit Dadarion Small on a 43-yard touchdown pass. Durham booted the PAT and Winona stretched the lead back to two scores at 35-21.
The Whippets struck back quickly as Antonion Harmon scored on a 60-yard pass. The PAT failed and Winona held a 35-27 lead.
The Tigers ended the third as Burnley hit Robert McMath on a 15-yard touchdown pass. Durham’s kick gave Winona a 42-27 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Whippets cut the score to nine with a 10-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth to make the score 42-33 after a missed PAT.
The Tigers answered with a 4-yard run by Burnley to take a 49-33 lead midway through the fourth after Burnham’s PAT.
The Whippets added a late score on a 17-yard run by Ethan Wood, but the Tigers hung on to take the 10-point win.
The Tigers had 440 yards of total offense as they rushed for 304 yards and threw for 136 yards. Townsend had 20 carries for 222 yards and three touchdowns while also adding a short touchdown pass.
Burnley was 15-of-19 passing for 136 yards with three touchdowns, while he also rushed for 37 yards on seven carries. Small had three catches for 57 yards while Robert McMath had six catches for 31 yards and a 70-yard kickoff return.
“I thought Jekeyvion played well,” Tompkins said. “It was his first game as a starter, and I thought he handled himself well. He had a couple of big third-down throws. I thought he managed the game very well. We had a lot of bright spots and have some places to clean up. But I’m super proud of our effort.”
On defense, the Tigers held the Whippets to 349 total yards with 251 passing and 98 rushing. Khristian Williams led the Winona defense with seven tackles, including two for a loss. Dennis Turner and Ja’mes Bays also had interceptions for the Tigers.
“We have nine new starters on defense that have never played,” Tompkins said. “I think we are going be be good on defense before the end of the year. I think they had 95 yards rushing and two runs accounted for about 75 yards of that. They really didn’t try to run the ball o bus. They were very pass hey and attacked the middle of the field on us. We really didn’t know what to expect from them.”
The Tigers won’t have far to travel this week as they made the short trip to North Carrollton to take on J.Z. George.
The Jaguars are 1-0 after beating Coldwater last week.
The two teams have some close ties as former J.Z. George coach Ben Burton is now on the Winona staff while former running back Deriaun Townsend is now starting at Winona after back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons for the Jaguars.
“J.Z. has some talented players,” Tompkins said. “They beat Coldwater pretty bad last week. Their former head coach is on our staff, and one of their good players from last year is playing here now. They will have some motivation to do well against us. I’m sure we will get their best effort. We will have to prepare our kids to perform on Friday night.”
Last year, Winona beat J.Z. George 34-14.
