Don’t look now, but the Winona High School football team took a huge step in the right direction by knocking off Region 4-3A foe Noxubee County 31-26 last Friday night in Macon.
With the victory, the Winona Tigers move to 3-4 overall and improve to 1-1 in region play. Noxubee falls to 4-3 and starts region play 0-1.
“We traded scores in the fourth quarter, but we were able to get the last one and pull out the win,” said Winona coach DeAngelo Ballard. “The pick-6 by Yoshawn (Hudson) in the fourth quarter was big. It was such a great effort by our guys, and the defense played so well. We bent but didn’t break.”
The win over Noxubee was the third straight in the series between the two teams. The Tigers from Winona hold a 4-2 lead. They beat Noxubee 34-27 in the Class 3A state title game in 2023.
The win was a new one for Ballard in that he played quarterback in high school at Noxubee and has been an assistant coach twice at the school.
“For me personally, it was the first time to be standing on opposing sideline,” said Ballard. “The atmosphere was outstanding. I was recognized before the game by Noxubee. It was such a big win against a quality opponent. Noxubee is one of the top teams still in 3A. It also qualified us for the playoffs in that the top four teams make it. We’re now playing to move up in the district and win it outright.”
The Tigers will have to wait a week before they return to region play as they entertain PURE Academy from Memphis Friday at 7 p.m. at Tiger Stadium. The Royals play as an independent and are 3-5 overall. They defeated Holly Springs 50-6 last week to snap a four-game losing skid.
“They play some tough teams out of Mississippi, and on film they have some good-looking athletes,” said Ballard. “Their quarterback is their best player. We have to focus on ourselves this week and getting better at what we do. It’s our homecoming, which can be a distraction, so we want to get the win and come out of the game healthy.”
In last week’s win at Noxubee, the visiting Tigers led 6-0 after the first frame. Noxubee tied the game at 6-6 by halftime and both teams had a touchdown and extra point in the third to make it 13-13 headed to the final quarter, where Winona held an 18-13 advantage.
Junior quarterback Landon Crawford ran for a team-high 147 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries and completed 3-of-9 passes for 30 yards.
Hudson, a junior tailback, rushed for 88 yards and one score on 16 carries. He also had all three receptions for 30 yards. On defense, he finished with five total tackles and returned an interception 62 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Dee Hudson, who ran for 25 yards on three carries, had a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Dejuan McChristian led the Winona defense with 12 tackles, and Brayden Flowers, Quincy Burt, Alejandro White and Jalon Oliver had 10 tackles each.
Noxubee plays at region opponent Choctaw County Friday night.
