HSFT Stop #43: Winona
WINONA, Miss. (WCBI) — Winona football cruised to an undefeated regular season in 2023. The Tigers capped it off in storybook fashion, winning the school’s first state championship.
“It meant a lot because I always wanted to be in a state championship and it was a dream come true especially after winning,” senior lineman Ariq Gross said.
The team celebrated last years success but entering summer practices, head coach Joey Tompkins made it very clear that 2023 has no bearing on this season.
“Two thousand twenty-three state champions is 2023,” Tompkins said. “We are starting in 2024. Our goal is to play in every single game and win the last one. We know there will be bumps in the road but we have to just get better every week.”
Tompkins went from a veteran team last season to a relatively inexperience one this year. Only five incoming seniors played a significant role last year so he is relying on them to show the underclassman what it takes to be a champion.
“It’s pretty big for me because last year I didn’t really have to lead because we had so many seniors but now we just have a couple of seniors,” senior linebacker Tyler Lockhart said.
The Tigers will rely on some younger players to step into major roles this season. They have huge shoes to fill but Tompkins has stressed to each one of them to play their own game.
“We’re not trying to ask them to be those guys, we just want them to be themselves,” Tompkins said. “We are looking for some of our tenth graders to come in and fill some big shoes.”
One of the biggest changes is under center. Sophomore Landon Crawford is taking over for Chase Richardson. Crawford got valuable playing time late in games last season. His teammates already have the utmost faith in him.
“He’s doing really good for a sophomore quarterback,” senior wide receiver Troylando Eden said. “He is catching on real quick and is making a lot of good calls as a young quarterback so I think he can really get the job done.”
Winona begins its title defense on August 30 at home against Newton County.
