In a clash of 2023 state champions, the Class 2A Charleston Tigers defeated the Class 3A Winona Tigers 34-7 in a local game Friday night.
Charleston improved to 4-2 while Winona fell to 2-4.
“I’m proud of the way the kids came out and played the game, played it the right way, played it full speed,” said CHS head coach LaDon Taylor. “I’m just happy about us doing a good job overall. It was a big win for us, one that we needed going into our division play.”
Charleston opens its Region 3-2A schedule this week.
“The preseason was brutal, as always, for our kids. To come out 4-2 with the strength of schedule that we had, that’s a good thing,” said Taylor, referring to the six nondivisional games the team has played to this point.
The CHS Tigers scored early last week when running back Marcus “Deuce” Flowers hit a seam en route to a 45-yard touchdown. The conversion failed, but the home team led 6-0.
The advantage expanded to 14-0 at the half on the strength of a second-quarter 1-yard touchdown run by Latese Edwards, who also carried for the two-point conversion.
Charleston went up 20-0 in the third quarter after a 1-yard TD run by Flowers. The two-point play again failed.
Winona finally got on the scoreboard on the strength of a 23-yard touchdown pass from Landon Crawford to Troylando Eden. Hammond Austin booted the PAT to pull the visitors to within 20-7.
It was all Charleston after that, as the home team rattled off two more third-quarter touchdowns to ice the game.
Sophomore quarterback Quay Kimble hit Demarion Johnson for a 26-yard TD, and junior quarterback Devon Olive found Quentin Carter for a 30-yard aerial score. Edwards ran in the conversion to finalize scoreboard action.
Taylor lauded Edwards for playing through the pain of an injury — a dislocated shoulder — that he suffered in a game two weeks ago.
“He got cleared and he performed pretty well this past Friday,” said Taylor. Edwards accounted for 10 points in the Charleston win.
“He’s still got a little rehab to do, but he toughed it out last Friday,” the coach added.
Taylor thanked Charleston fans, particularly those who “think enough of us ... to pay to come into the game.” The football gate money, he noted, is “crucial” for the support of the entire athletic department.
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Olive led CHS quarterbacks, going 6-of-18 for 149 yards, one touchdown and one interception which was snared in the Winona end zone to end another CHS threat.
Kimble completed his only attempt of the game for the 26-yard touchdown.
Carter had four receptions for 92 yards, Kemauri Edwards snared one for 43 yards, Johnson grabbed one for 26 yards and David Ray caught a pass for 14 yards.
As usual, Flowers was the workhorse on the ground, rolling up 171 yards on 24 rushes. Olive had four runs for 12 yards, Carter five for 8, Aybekia Bradley two for 2, and Edwards and Kimble both had one carry apiece that netted a single yard.
Brandon Henderson hauled in an interception for the Charleston defense. Tristan Shoemaker recovered a fumble for the home team.
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Charleston opens Region 3-2A play Friday night with a long road trip to face the 1-4 Riverside Bulldogs at Avon, below Greenville in Washington County.
Riverside, which West Tallahatchie defeated 60-0 at Avon on Aug. 30, was walloped 37-0 last week by Leflore County. The Bulldogs’ lone win, 13-0, came Sept. 27 against McAdams, which is now 0-6 on the year.
Taylor said the Tigers must stay focused and take care of business. The road to a possible playoff berth begins this week.
“I told the kids after last Friday, the preseason is over. And 4-2 is not a bad record ... but at the end of the day, none of those games means anything to us. At this point, everything that matters starts this Friday.”
