Winona Christian football coach Junior Graham said his Stars put together a good opening week of football practice to kick off the 2021 season.
“Every day was a productive day. We didn’t take any steps back. I think it’s because so many of the players are green and it’s new to them. We are starting from ground zero and they are getting better every day,” Graham said. “They fought through the heat and it was miserable hot last week. We got pictures behind us and started off this week with a good day and there’s not much more you can ask for.”
With a young and thin squad, Graham said he is looking for steady improvement from his team.
“We are looking for them to grasp their positions a little better every day. If they do that, we will grow progressively as a team. You don’t want frustration to set in and take steps backwards,” Graham said. “That’s the key for inexperienced players. The have to respect the game. It’s not an easy game and you will have some setbacks. You just can’t let it affect the next rep or the rest of practice. We stay on it and start looking for body language. If we see a kid get frustrated, we will pull them aside. It’s hard to hid if a kid gets frustrated.”
The Stars will travel to Bay Springs on Thursday and take on Sylva Bay in a scrimmage, starting at 5 p.m.
“We will get in about 60 reps and every play will be scripted,” Graham said. “There will be no rhyme or reason why we do anything. We are just trying to evaluate kids and see them compete. We need this because everything we have done has been half-line so we need to go 11-on-11.”
The Stars open the season on Aug. 27 as they take on rival Carroll Academy.
Lady Stars win own tourney with three straight wins
The Winona Christian Lady Stars won their own tournament this past weekend.
After a 6-6 tie with Benton, the Lady Stars won three straight games, beating Indianola 4-1, Manchester 6-2 and Benton 15-0.
The Lady Stars were scheduled to travel to Manchester on Monday and Benton on Tuesday. On Thursday, the Lady Stars will host Winston before playing in the Indianola Tournament on Friday.
Winona Christian 15, Benton 0
The Stars banged out 13 hits and took advantage of six errors and took a run-rule win over the Lady Raiders on Saturday in the championship game.
Winona scored three in the first, seven in the second, three in the third and two in the fourth.
Winona had 13 hits in the contest as Allie Leach was 3-for-4 with two doubles and three runs scored. Terri Cain was 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs while Sara Rawles was 2-for-3 with a double. Kaylah Varnes was 2-for-3. Allie Rawles also doubled while Hanna Robertson tripled and scored twice.
Sara Rawles pitched all four innings and scattered three hits while striking out four.
Winona Christian 6, Manchester 2
The Lady Stars started fast and took a four-inning, time limit win in the tournament semifinals on Saturday.
Winona scored four in the first and added one in the second and fourth. Manchester added two in the bottom of the first.
Winona had 10 hits in the contest as Lennie Wood was 3-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored. Terri Cain was 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs while Allie Leach was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Sara Rawles pitched all four innings and gave up two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four.
Winona Christian 4, Indianola 1
The Lady Stars scored three runs in the bottom of the third to take a five-inning win over the Lady Colonels on Saturday.
Each team scored one run in the first before Winona scored three in the third.
Winona outhit Indianola 6-4 in the contest. Sara Rawles was 2-for-2 and drove in two runs while Allie Leach was 2-for-3 with a double.
Allie Rawles pitched all five innings and gave up just one run on four hits.
Winona Christian 6, Benton 6
The Lady Stars scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth to force a tie in the second game of the day on Saturday.
Benton scored two in the first and led 2-1 after three. Benton then scored four in the fourth before Winona answered with five in the fourth.
Each team had nine hits as Allie Rawles was 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles. Kaylah Varnes was also 2-for-2 with two RBIs while Terri Cain doubled and drove in two runs.
Allie Rawles pitched all four innings and gave up six runs on nine hits.
Winona Christian 5, Central Holmes 2
After falling behind 2-0, the Lady Stars scored three in the first and two in the third to take a time-limit win.
No other information was available.
