By Jasmine Jones
Photos Courtesy Tiger Snaps
The Tigers lost a hard fought game last Friday night against Bunkie. Fighting through the rain and much of the flying wildlife, they came out 50-14 after four challenging quarters.
With dark clouds looming, the Tigers began their battle against the Panthers. After a Bunkie touchdown the Panthers went for a two point conversion but the defensive front led by Damascus “Tank” Lewis held the Panther’s back from converting the extra points. Soon after, Breylan Starks deflected a pass that would have landed Bunkie threateningly close to the endzone. Towards the end of the first quarter, Damascus “Tank” Lewis blocked an attempted field goal further preventing the Panthers from racking up points.
In the second quarter, on the Tiger’s possession, Jordan Washington carried the ball for a successful run, which was followed with a run by Lewis, and led to the initial first down of the night. Then Logan Adams, and Javonta Grisby made a great stop preventing the Panthers from another first down, giving Winnfield possession.
The second half started off strong with Breylan Starks making a touchdown-preventing tackle as the Bunkie receiver attempted to run for the endzone. Soon after, Lewis made a good return on the punt covering more than ten yards, setting Winnfield up for success with a great position on the field. Towards the end of the third quarter, Tank Lewis ran from the 20 yard line into the endzone despite many attempts by Bunkie to bring him down. This was followed with an excellent kick by Noe Vasquez, the Tiger’s newest kicker, who converted the extra point.
In the final quarter of the game, Jeremy Mamon drove hard up the middle upon receiving the ball successfully setting the Tigers in a position such that Javen Jackson was able to run a deep route with Nickalas Mockosher connecting with him for Winnfield’s second and final score. Noe Vasquez then performed another well executed kick bringing the Tigers another point. Then on the return following Winnfield’s touchdown, Jeremy Mamon made a full stop causing the Panther’s carrier to fumble where Logan Adams was able to recover the ball, continuing the Tigers control over the field until time ran out.
“Bunkie was as good as we thought they were, athletically there are not many teams at our level that can compete” said head coach Jay Watson in a post-game interview. “I challenged our boys at half-time to keep fighting and they did. These two touchdowns will give our kids a lift going into this week. In addition, I am very proud of our kicker who is a late addition to our team and gives us confidence moving forward.” When asked about next week’s game he stated “We need to keep the boys focused going into the second half of the season.”
The Tigers will play at home next week for the much anticipated homecoming game against the Rosepine Eagles who currently stand 0-5 in their record. Many activities will be taking place this week in preparation for this game including a parade on Thursday afternoon, October 10. The game next week should be far more comfortable than this week with temperatures in the seventies with no chance of rain. Consider coming out to support the Winnfield Tigers!
