Winona took care of business in their home opener on Friday. They came out on top against the Newton County Cougars by a score of 39-29. The win was nothing new for the Tigers as they're now sitting on 16 straight dating back to last season.
Landon Crawford was nothing short of spectacular: he rushed for 160 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 8.9 yards per carry, and also threw for 193 yards and a touchdown on only 18 passes. His longest rush was for an impressive 56 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Troylando Eden was Crawford's top target, picking up 132 receiving yards and a touchdown.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Winona's defense and their four sacks. Darreal Forrest was especially locked on to Newton County's QB and sacked him twice. Forrest also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, picking up two sacks and making eight total tackles (2.0 for loss). Tommarion Brown was another major factor on D, making 13 total tackles (3.0 for loss) and snagging an interception.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Winona was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 223 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 223 rushing yards in five consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Newton County's defeat dropped their record down to 1-1.
Winona is headed away from home for the first time to square off against Grenada at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Winona is looking to tack on another W to their five-game streak on the road dating back to last season. As for Newton County, they will challenge Raleigh at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
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