The Winona Christian Stars wrapped up their third week of preseason practice last week.
Head Coach Junior Graham said the Stars had another good week of practice as they prepare for season opener this week.
“We had another solid week,” Graham said. “We dodged COVID and the heat. It’s just going to be a constant struggle with our numbers. But we got through the week and I thought we had a good week. Now, we have to get back to work and start preparing for Carroll.”
The Stars were coming off a scrimmage against Sylva Bay but did not play in a jamboree this week. But the Sylva Bay scrimmage did clear up some things for the Stars.
“Sylva Bay gave us a chance to lock down some spots on offense,” Graham said. “We were able to evaluate people in some positions. Jake Ware came out as the quarterback and Sam Thompson will be our running back. Now that we’ve got that decided, we can move forward with some things on offense. On defense, we polished up some things that we did well against Sylva Bay and our deficient areas we are going to have to coach up. We have to play with what we have and maintain our patience as coaches. We have to come to practice every day and grow our players.”
This week’s game
The Stars will kick off the season this week as they travel to former district rival Carroll on Friday.
While the two teams are not district foes this season, Graham said it does not change the intensity of the contest.
“Carroll is going to be Carroll,” Graham said. “They are very aggressive and super talented. The quarterback and is big and fast and a great athlete. When the game was on the line last year, he was the guy who had the ball in his hands. I feel like they will be in the mix in Class 4A. I won’t stray away from that.”
Graham said he does not know much about Carroll but has a good idea of what he will see on Friday night.
“I don’t know much about their offensive and defensive lines,” Graham said. “I know they lost two tremendous linemen and those kind of kids are hard to replace. But I know Bo and I know they will do what they do best. I know Coach Milton; he’s not one to step outside the box. His kids buy into what they are trying to do over there. It will be a typical Carroll team to prepare for.”
Last year, Carroll won the game 22-14 as they won the district championship. Two years ago, Winona Christian won 48-46 in an epic battle.
