Patriots; Dalton, Knock out Manchester

The patriots took the field of champions Friday night undefeated under Coach Wyatt Rogers for the 08' campaign. They left the field the same. They kept their lead in the division and also remained numero uno at the top of the MPSA's Class AA. Tyler Dalton ran the ball early and often and dominated the Manchester defense single handedly the entire contest scoring four of his teams touchdowns (all on the ground) while rushing for over 275 yards. It was what could have been one of the best single performances that many have seen since Rogers was here last here and Taylor McNeil was calling the shots. "T.D." didnt do it alone though. The Patriots had Corey Vernon and Hunter Hughley running the football as well and racking up even more yards for this high powered Patriot Spread that runs in the no huddle. For the second week in a row Austin Harrison was not playing receiver but did get some "PT" as he returned all the punts for Winston. He also came in at cornerback during crunch time in the fourth quarter. The Patriots ran smoothly for the first time this season offensively and defensively had another solid game with the exception of two or three big plays that turned into touchdowns for the visiting Mavs. Winston though is beginning to get into tougher oppenents as the stretch run hits. After a bye week this week the Patriots will be on the road again for two games at Tri County another conference game, and the AAA Heritage Patriots. Following those ball games the Patriots return home in a matchup that will determine the division against Canton Academy and the final game will be against former Patriot player and coach Brian Sims and the Starkville Academy Vols. The rest of the season will prove to be a tough one but the Patriots think they can handle it. They have clinched a fourth straight playoff berth with their win this week but they look to get over thier slump of making it to Clinton as they've been 8 years without a state championship. The Last Time? Coach Rogers won his second straight. Can he become one of the elite coaches in the State with his third in as many years. We'll find out in the weeks to come. Stay tuned Patriot fans.