HSFT Stop #38 — Winston Academy Patriots

Louisville, Miss. (WCBI) — The Winston Academy Patriots don’t have much reloading to do this offseason. They returned 19 starters from last year’s team.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that have played a lot of football. Now, how good are we gonna be, that remains to be seen,” head coach Pat Byrd said.

The Patriots went 6-5 last season, but only lost four seniors from that team. Now, they’ve got quite the hefty senior class of around 20 players.

“I think that’s how the expectations are so high,” senior J.T. McGinnis said. 

But seniority doesn’t necessarily translate to success. And with a tough schedule on the horizon, Byrd is making sure his kids put in the work.

“Experience just means you’ve played games, success means you’ve had to do it well,” Byrd said. “We’ve struggled with consistency, so we’ve got to learn to play each play consistently.”

One of the four seniors they lost was quarterback Brylee Wall. Now, senior Jett Joiner is stepping up into his shoes.

“I was a running back. I was behind our senior quarterback last year, so this has been my first-ever year quarterback in high school,” Joiner said. 

The goal for the Patriots this season? Win their first playoff game since 2010.