By Matt Vines, Journal Services
WINNFIELD – The Winnfield football team put together another offensive outburst to top Rosepine, 49-28, on the road this past week.
The Tigers (2-4) snapped a four-game losing streak against formidable opponents in their respective classifications like West Ouachita, Jena and Bunkie (the latter two state title contenders).
While Rosepine (0-6) won’t fit into that category, Winnfield handled business on the road with explosive plays in the running and passing game.
“It came down to the offensive line play,” said Winnfield coach Byron Keller. “We’re getting better up front each week, which makes it easy for our running backs.”
The Tigers will need to keep that same energy when they travel to a Many bunch (3-3, 1-0) that appears to have returned to early-season form.
After Many dropped three straight games by double digits, they turned the tide in their district opener in a 56-13 thrashing of Lakeside.
It feels similar to their season-opening wins against Logansport (35-19) and DeRidder (49-21) before they suffered large losses to Leesville (48-15), St. Mary’s (39-28) and Alexandria Senior High (57-0).
“I feel that we are in the same boat right now regarding our programs,” Keller said of Winnfield and Many. “We are still working on finding what works best and putting our best players in a position to be successful. The first year is always tough, and we are experiencing growing pains.”
What worked for Winnfield this past week was huge plays from running backs Detavious Williams and Richard Williams.
Winnfield erased an early Rosepine lead with a 66-yard Detavious Williams touchdown run and scoring runs of 65 and 76 yards from Richard Williams as Winnfield sprinted to a 22-7 edge.
The Williams’ pair knifed through a compact Rosepine defense, breaking key tackles and outrunning the rest of the Eagles routinely as Winnfield racked up 459 rushing yards.
The Tigers made plays through the air as well, including an 87-yard touchdown catch by Craig St. Cyr from quarterback Nickalas Mockosher.
Many counters with its own explosive weapons led by running back Daniel Thomas. Thomas rushed for five touchdowns and returned a kickoff for a sixth score against Lakeside.
Winnfield’s defense will need to continue on its improvement path to limit Many’s big-play ability.
The matchup also features head coaches who are familiar with each other.
Keller led a Red River program that featured new Many head coach Tyler Hassell on staff, and now both men are in the process of rebuilding once proud programs.
Many’s status as a state title contender has been much more recent than Winnfield’s, but the former is trying to rebuild after a shocking winless season in 2024, just two seasons removed from a state title.
“It always adds a little more fun to coach against a former assistant,” Keller said. “Everyone is looking to have bragging rights for the next year.”
