Two things happened from Central Holmes’ three-game run through Class 4A’s best teams.
One, the Trojans survived and two, they got better.
Central Holmes led Winston early, but five turnovers plagued the Trojans as the Patriots took a 43-8 win on Friday night.
Central Holmes falls to 0-3 on the season and will host Delta Streets on Friday night for homecoming.
“I told the kids after the game that the score wasn’t indicative of how hard they played,” Central Holmes Coach Mitch Womack said. “We had five turnovers and muffed an onside kick. They had six extra possessions. We were leading 8-3 after the first quarter. Our kids are playing at a different level and are playing to the level we are trying to get to. You just can’t turn the ball over on offense. We are still trying to find ourselves over there. But we survived that stretch of game and are now looking forward to the rest of the season.”
Despite the loss, Womack said he wasn’t displeased with the effort from his team, just the turnovers.
“We just got through playing three of the toughest teams in Class 4A,” said the coach. “Tri-County is probably the best team in 4A, and I won’t be surprised if they win it. Brookhaven and Winston are going to make it to the quarter or semifinals. The biggest thing is I think we grew during that process. And now we are getting into the part of our schedule where we play teams that we are comparable with. I’m excited to see how we handle that.”
Womack said there are some things his team needs to clean up before this week’s game.
“Our all security has got to be better,” Womack said. “And we have to be more aggressive on defense. I thought we played really well in the first half. We moved the ball well on offense, but turnovers killed drives. You just can’t do that. I don’t take many moral victories, but I’ll take one there. Yes, we are 0-3 but I thought we grew up a lot in those three losses and we are excited about the next six weeks to see what happens.”
Winston got the ball to start the game and drove all the way to the Central Holmes 5 before the Trojans forced a fumble and got the ball at their own 25. From there, the Trojans moved the ball to midfield where Noah Steen called his own number on an option play and scored on a 55-yard touchdown run. Steen also scored the two-point conversion and Central Holmes led 8-0.
“Noah is doing really well and is understanding the game better,” Womack said. “He’s getting better every week. He’s just got to hold onto the football. I thought he made a great read on the touchdown play. It’s coming together.”
The Trojans held an 8-3 lead at the end of the first quarter before the Patriots scored 21 points in the second quarter to lead 24-8 at the half. Winston continued to extend its lead with 13 points in the third and six in the fourth for the final margin.
Winston had 267 yards passing on 9-of-15 passing for three TDs from quarterback Brylee Wall. The Patriots had 163 yards rushing for 429 yards of total offense.
Steen led the Central Holmes offense with 75 yards rushing while Lamarion Buchanon had 64 yards rushing.
Ellis Harris led the Trojans with nine tackles with “a breakout game” on defense. John Ward also had an interception.
This week’s game
The Trojans will try to get their first win as they host Delta Streets for homecoming on Friday.
Delta is 1-3 on the season with their only win being an 18-0 forfeit win over Hillcrest. On the field, Delta is 0-3 with losses to Washington (28-15), Indianola (48-7) and Sylva Bay (34-21).
“They are a team that has good skill on and a good line on both sides of the ball. They get in a lot of different set. It will definitely be a challenge to get lined up right. But we have gotten better in the last three weeks,” Womack said. “But this is another game about ourselves. Ball security will be at a premium this week. We have to protect the ball and limit their offensive possessions. It’s also headache week for me. It’s homecoming and it’s a headache for a week. There are lots of things going on, but we are trying to concentrate and win a football game.”
