Football Recap: Winona Falls Despite Big Games from Jayden Mobley and Easton Smotherman

Winona came into this matchup off a tough 41-point loss last Friday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of the Hawkins Hawks by a score of 28-26 on Friday. The Wildcats lost against the Hawks in their previous head to head back in September of 2024, too, but the margin this time around was much closer than the 50-20 score last time.

Despite the defeat, Winona had strong showings from Easton Smotherman, who rushed for 130 yards and one score on only seven carries, and Jayden Mobley, who rushed for 144 yards and a pair of touchdowns while picking up 8.0 yards per carry. Mobley's longest rush was for an impressive 58 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total.

Winona didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Kaiden Hewitt.

Winona now has a losing record of 1-2. As for Hawkins, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 3-0.

Coming up, Winona will venture away from home to square off against Alto at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. As for Hawkins, they will host Elysian Fields at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The game will give the Hawks their first taste of in-conference action this season.