Patriots fall 7-0

The Patriots traveled to Yazoo County with a playoff spot already on the line and unfortunately for them were unable to pull one out. Manchester (6-0; 3-0) was outplayed by the Patriots both offensively and defensively the entire game but the Patriots' 4 trips inside the Maverick red zone could not issue a score. The first three offensive possessions were 3 and outs for the Mavericks. Then came the turning point. Mid way through the 2nd quarter on 4th and goal from the 5, Coach Sims brought the kicking team out only to see the kick go to a fake. Dillion Morgan took the toss around the right side but was taken off his feet at the two and the ball was turned over on downs. Shortly after, the Public Address man announced that the head coach from Manchester had drawn ill and was taken via ambulance to the hospital. After a moment of silence we were ready to play again. Manchester took the ball to their own 22 when on the 1st down they drove the ball 78 yards down the grass for the touchdown. Fast forward to the fourth quarter. With a little over 5 minutes remaining, the Patriots began to drive the ball down field with Tyler Dalton connecting on various passes to Kyle Harriman and Austin Harrison. The biggest of them was a 3rd down pass from the Patriot's own 14 that got the ball into Manchester territory and a penalty flag gave the patriots 15 more yards and had them in business at the Manchester 14. Two plays later on a hand off to Harrison, the Patriots fumbled and the game seemed to be over. Not so fast. The Patriots stopped the Mavericks on 5 plays and got the football back with a min. 30 left. They took the ball at the Mav 45 and it became a moment of truth for T.D. and this offense. The Patriots ran into a buzz saw on their first 3 plays and it was 4th and 7. Tyler Dalton dropped back to pass and bulleted one across the middle. The ball tipped off the hands of a Manchester defender and into the hands of gracious Kyle Harriman. With a little under a minute left the patriots got on the ball and spiked it to stop the clock. From there the Pats were once again faced with a decision and on third down Kyle Harriman pulled in yet another big pass play this time just shy of the goal line at the 1. Patriots once again spiked it and with 11 seconds to go, had time to run one last play. Harrison got the call on the handoff and was stopped literally inches from the goal line. From there the game ended and the Patriots fell to 4-2 and 1-2 in district play. Manchester improved to 6-0 and are now shoe ins for a playoff spot that the Patriots thought would be all but theirs. Kyle Harriman garnered his second player of the game honors of the season in his valiant efforts in the tough loss.

Winston Travels to Yazoo to take on the Mavs

Last year on a cold novemeber night, the Mavericks of Manchester Academy came into Patriot Field to try to knock off the team searching for their first district championship since 2001. Not only were they trying to do that, but they were also attempting to knock off a team playing their final regular season home game with the incredible group of seniors that had been destructive on that field since Pee Wee Football. This could not be accomplished by this Mav team and the Patriots sent them off the field hurting. This year revenge is in the minds of some of the same football team that was there on that cold fall night. This is a different Patriot team though, atleast offensively, and they know how to take care of buisness. The Patriots are off to a 4-1 start and if my history lessons of my past in Winston Academy serves me right, I believe 1999 was the last time we started that well. (3rd of 4 straight State championships by the way that year) It is indeed the best start that Coach Brian Sims has endured in his 5 years as a coach. The Mavericks on the other hand have started off a bit more impressively by making a 5-0 run to start the season. Although 2 of these were against 1A foes, they have beaten two division teams in Tri-County and Canton which are known as bottom feeders of the conference compared to the Leakes, Kirks, Winstons, and now I guess we can say the Manchesters. This should be an interesting matchup and I hope to see a great crowd in contention. Now regarding last weeks game. I did not make it so I have no information on the game other than that we won 21-0. The Patriot defense has now allowed only three touchdowns through 5 games and all of them against the Rebels of Leake, who at this moment is the best team in the state. Stay tuned for more Winston Academy sports.

Leake Academy dispurses of the Patriots

Leake Academy walked onto the field of champions for the kickoff at exactly 7:03, and by the end of the night they had a 28-0 win on that same field. The Pats failed to score a single touchdown and for that matter a single point for the first time this season. Yes, Leake is the same team that beat the Patriots 43-7 last year and yes they are number 1 in the state now. But the effort the Patriots showed, or lack there of, was not exceptable from their fearless leader and head coach Brian Sims. The patriots hope to get another shot at those Webels on down the road though. This week the win for Leake both propelled them to the top spot in the state and knocked the Pats out of the top 5 completely for the first time this season. Allen Johnson and Austin Byrd tore through the Patriot defense but really scored legitamatly once on a long run. The rest of the game was dominated by the mistakes of the Patriot offense. T.D. had little or no time in the pocket. When he did he made good plays that couldn't be turned into points after it. Kyle Harriman was this weeks temcto steel player of the week. This week the Patriots travel to a place that they haven't been to in awhile at Wayne Academy. The jaguars and the patriots had some great battles in the seasons of state championship glory and this should be another good one though I believe the Patriots will respond to the loss and fire back hard at the Jaguars. Stay tuned late friday night for the story.

Week 3 Rankings

The Patriots were hoping that their win over the Radiers would give them a boost in this week's Clarion Ledger rankings.... Well... Not quite. The Patriots remain number 4 in the state in AA a position that they've held since the pre season and a hot 3-0 start hasn't changed the opinions of the ledger. Ahead of the Patriots in the rankings at number 1 is 3-0 Oak Forest a team from LA. Marshall Academy's 3-0 start have propelled them into the top 5 and at number 2 this week and 2-1 Leake is ahead the Pats at number 3. That makes this week's game all the more important number 3 Leake vs. number 4 Winston. Last year a 45-7 win from the Rebels solidified the fact that they were the top team in State as Winston was then ranked as well. Can the Patriots seek revenge and take out these mighty Rebels from Leake and earn the trust and respect of the Media and coaches around the State? We'll find out Friday night at 7:00.

Patriots dump the Raiders 21-6

The fans, players, and coaches for the Patriots were skeptical of what to expect before the game tonight. The team that came to Patriot Field last year with the North Half State championship and a trip to Clinton on the line abslutely controlled the game from start to finish and won handly on their way to a second place finish 1 win away from being state champs. In the regular season though it played out differently with the Patriots coming out on top in Grenada as they went undefeated in conference play. Kirk wanted to set that tone this year knocking off the Patriots on their home field once againi but Coach Sims and the Patriot defense had other plans.
For yet another game the defense gave up no touchdowns and they have yet to this season. The game started with two failed offensive drives by the Patriots and two field goals by Kirk capitalizing off of those failed drives. After that the Patiot offense kicked in both on the ground and through the air. Tyler Dalton came up with another big game going for over 100 yards passing again even with having a backfield full of kirk players. Forced to scramble all night, T.D. made due of what he had and became a real quarterback against his first real test. Kyle Harriman had another good night as well and ran the ball very well. Defensively Caleb Kelley led us with 7 tackles as the defense was spreading the tackles around and forcing fumbles left and right. The Patriot defense's efforts earned them the Players of the game. Coming into the game we knew it was going to be a defensive battle which was clarified early and often. Now the Patriots real test begins and it will be the biggest of the year. This game alone will tell everyone how the season will go. Next week at Patriot field, the Winston Patriots will be taking on the mighty Leake Academy Rebels. The Rebles had an undefeated regular season last year although they lost to Kirk in the playoffs. Leake has come back with just as high of expectations and are 3-1 with their lone loss coming to the hands of the defending State Champs Copiah Lincoln. Everyone in the state public or private will have their eyes on this game next week and I trust that all you readers will have your eyes on it as well in person. We will need all the help we can get against the highly touted offense. I will be back later this week with rankings for the week and a preview of the mighty Leake Rebles. Until then good night to all and be safe. GO PATS!!!!

WA-34 SBA-7

The Patriots played the game on a slightly dry field for the first time and came away with an easy victory against the Sylva Bay Saints. Tyler Dalton got his arm in action for his second start and put up an impressive 8-15 night through the air with 150 yards. He also rushed 15 times for 90 yards and 2 touchdowns. His action tonight gave me enough reason to give him this week's Temcto Steel player of the game. Tyler was not alone in his efforts though as Austin Harrison was doing alot of the catching pulling in 4 grabs for 80 plus yards. Tyler Moffit got things going as well pulling in a catch but also racing 60 yards on a running play that set up the Pats first touchdown of the night. Defense for the Second week in a row was stellar with the additions of Caleb and Nathan Kelly proving to be big. They both played well all night. Stephen Arnett, the smallest player on the field most of the time, played quality defensive min. and forced a fumble and also recovered one. Not only this, he ran in a late touchdown for the Patriots as the running back. Kyle Harriman was on top of his game once again defensively and offensively as he played outstanding.
Coach Brian Sims beat Sylva Bay for the third time in as many tries against them and continues his success as head coach at Winston as he has compiled a 17-10 record over three years. He looks to improve on that record as he has two tough home games a head against defending State runner ups Kirk academy and the mighty Leake Rebels who lost only one game last season. Both games are also district. I look foward to seeing everyone the next two weeks as the Pats look to go 4-0 on the campaign after the current home stand.