Coaches oftentimes talk about taking what the opponent gives you.
That was exactly what the Winona Christian School Stars varsity football team did last Friday night in their game with longtime rival Carroll Academy.
The Rebels came into the contest looking to make the Stars beat them with the pass. They were able to do just that as sophomore quarterback Zack Bledsoe had an efficient 7-of-10 night passing for 137 yards and three touchdowns as the Stars cruised to a 42-6 win over the Rebels.
With the win, the Stars are 5-2 on the season. Carroll Academy drops to 3-4 with the loss.
“We started really well,” WCS head coach Ashley Kuhn said. “They were daring us to throw the football, and we were able hit some big plays in the passing game. We had three big pass plays and were able to get the score built up in the second quarter in order to be able to play everyone. I thought our offensive execution was good, and we played well defensively.”
The Stars finished the night with 330 total yards of offense compared to 86 yards for the Rebels.
Senior running back Will Irwin opened the scoring with a 7-yard run with 9:07 left in the first quarter. Junior Alston Crouch’s extra point made it 7-0.
Irwin picked up his second of three touchdowns, going in from 4 yards out with 4:15 left in the opening quarter. Crouch’s extra point put Winona Christian up 14-0.
The Stars closed out the first quarter with a 46-yard touchdown pass from Bledsoe to senior John Conner Greene. Crouch’s extra point with 21 seconds left in the quarter made it 21-0.
It was much the same in the second quarter as Winona Christian added three more scores. The first one came as Bledsoe and Greene hooked up again, this time on a 20-yard scoring pass play. Crouch’s PAT with 10:57 left in the half increased the Stars lead to 28-0.
The Stars were back in the end zone as Irwin went over from 1 yard out with 7:57 left in the second quarter. Crouch made the extra point to give the Stars a 35-0 advantage.
WCS closed out its scoring as Bledsoe found junior Austin Horne open on a 25-yard scoring pass with 16 seconds left in the half. Crouch’s extra point made it 42-0.
Carroll Academy added a fourth-quarter score to make the final score 42-6.
Individually, Irwin led the way with 146 yards on 17 carries and three touchdowns. Horne was the leading receiver with four receptions for 68 yards, while Greene finished with three receptions for 67 yards.
Winona Christian School returns to action Friday night traveling to Grenada to face Kirk Academy. Kuhn expects a battle from the 3-3 Raiders, who are coached by former Grenada High School assistant coach Justin Purvis, who is in his first season.
“Their win at Greenville St. Joseph got a lot of folks’ attention,” Kuhn concluded. “They are well-coached and physical with an outstanding running game. We will have our work cut out for us.”
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
