Back in 2023, Winona and Grenada renewed their series on the gridiron after an 11-year hiatus.
That season, the Tigers won a 32-26 decision in Winona en route to a 15-0 season that ended in a Class 3A State Championship. Last season, the Chargers turned the tables winning a 49-6 decision in Grenada on their way to a Class 6A State Championship.
Friday night, the teams return to the playing field for a matchup in Winona with different looking teams. The Tigers will have a youthful squad with just three seniors, while Grenada lost several key players that were key components to the state championship run.
The Chargers are coming off a 42-6 season-opening win at home over Pine Bluff (Ark.) High School. Despite the easy win, third-year head coach Michael Fair knows there are improvements needed as his team heads into Week 2.
“I thought we played hard and with tremendous effort,” he said. “That being said, I thought there were a lot of things that we left out there from an execution standpoint. Defensively, we gave up some third down conversions that we need to clean up. On offense, we played pretty well, but we had a couple of breakdowns in protection when we shouldn’t have and had (senior quarterback Brayden) Trusty scrambling around when he shouldn’t have been. The run game play was good, but we need to stay on our blocks. We didn’t maintain blocks like we should have. We hope to see that improvement from Week 1 to Week 2.”
Winona comes into the game at 0-1 following last week’s 29-22 home-opening loss to Class 7A Southaven. Fair was impressed with what he saw on film from the Tigers.
“They are a young, athletic team that will get after you,” Fair said. “Defensively, they have some size up front and they have a fast tailback, which will be one of the better ones that we will face all season. Their quarterback is athletic.”
Longtime Noxubee County assistant coach Deangelo Ballard took over as head coach of the program in April. He knew firsthand about the program coaching against them in 2020, 2021 and 2023, losing twice to Winona, including the Class 3A title game by a score of 36-28.
Ballard likes his new team.
“We are young and talented,” he said. “It’s a team with outstanding speed that plays the game hard.”
Missed chances against Southaven were the difference, according to Ballard.
“We had chance after chance last week,” he said. “You have to take advantage of those chances when you haven them.”
Winona is led by junior running back Yoshawn Hudson and classmate Landon Crawford at quarterback. Junior defensive back Jalen Oliver has been solid, along with classmate Antonio Young at defensive tackle. Anchoring the offensive line is senior Takemion Small and junior Neal Roberts.
Ballard expects a huge challenge from the Chargers.
“They are well-coached and run to the football,” Ballard concluded. “Offensively, their quarterback makes them go. He is a special player and is one of the top quarterbacks in the state in Class 6A. Offensively, we are going to have to be able to run the football and protect the passer. Defensively, we are going to have to stop the run.”
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Winona.
