Colonels roll over Winona
By Watson Cook
For the first time since
2004 the Colonels are 4-0. More important however, is the 2-0 mark in district
play which the Colonels earned with a 27-12 win over the Winona Christian Stars
at Legion Field on Friday night. IA handed the Stars their first loss of the
season.
The first half was low-scoring as
both teams took a while to figure one another out. The Colonels
turned the ball over inside the Winona 30 on their first three possessions,
twice on downs and once with a fumble.
The IA defense was strong once
again, forcing a punt on the Stars’ first three drives. The fourth Star drive
was headed for the same result. However, a failed fake punt gave the Colonels 1st and 10 at the Winona 37 with 10:55 to
play in the first half. Michael Sykes put the Colonels on the board with a
37-yard touchdown run on the first play of the drive. Will Lang added the PAT
(a 35-yard PAT due to a dead ball penalty after the touchdown) to give IA a 7-0
lead. That score would hold for the remainder of the half.
The third quarter saw the Colonels
wear the Stars down. IA took the second-half kickoff and drove 62 yards on 7
plays. Ashton Knight (pictured below, #2) capped the drive with a 1-yard
plunge at the 10:32 mark to extend the Colonel lead. Wheeler Timbs added the
PAT to make it 14-0.
After a Winona 3-and-out, the
Colonels took over at their own 18. Eleven plays later, Knight scored his
second touchdown of the night, a 6-yard run with 3:55 to play in the quarter to
put the Colonels up 20-0 (missed PAT). Following the second straight 3-and-out
forced by the IA defense, the Colonels took over at their own 40 and needed
only seven plays to strike again. Knight’s team-leading 10th touchdown of the
season, this one from 25 yards out, gave the Colonels a 27-0 cushion (Lang PAT)
with 11:20 to play in the game.
The Stars, aided by six Colonel
penalties in the fourth quarter, made it interesting with an Aaron Gatlin
1-yard touchdown run with 9:20 to play. The 2-point try was unsuccessful. After
a Colonel punt, the Stars pulled closer as Will Amason hooked up with Brooks
Lott from 23 yards out to cut the IA lead to 27-12 with 2:48 to play. The
2-point try was again unsuccessful. Fortunately, the Colonels were able to
recover the onside kick attempt and run out the remaining 2:41 on the clock.
With the win the Colonels are off
to their best start in 9 years. A road trip to Marianna, Arkansas looms next
week as IA will take on the Lee Academy Cougars (0-4). Kickoff is set for 7:00.
.
Photo by Leigh Hargett
