Photo: Twitter/Winhawk SB
(KWMN)- The Winhawk football team took their 1-1 record with them as they marched into Byron and got the victory, dampening the Bear’s Homecoming festivities.
It could not have started off worse for the Winhawks. On the game’s first play, the Byron Bears dialed up a streak up the middle of the field and converted on a 60-yard catch and run to go up 7-0 just seconds into the game.
From that point on, the Winhawks buckled down and proved they could stick with the bears.
It was a back-and-forth game all night, with the defense on both teams stealing the show. It was filled with turnovers, ensuing turnovers, and offenses getting in their own way. Only 28 total points were scored in the first 48 minutes. It surely wasn’t the prettiest game of football, but it carried plenty of excitement.
After both teams traded punts in the final three minutes of the game, Byron and Winona headed to overtime with the score tied at 14. The Winhawks started with the football and it took one play, a quick out route by Bryan Cassellius where he caught a dime of a pass from Aiden Falls and walked into the endzone. Head Coach for the Winhawks, John Cassellius, originally planned to go for two, but with confusion on his sideline, decided to trust his defense and take the extra point instead.
The following possession for Byron set up the final moments of the game. After a quick three rushes up the middle, the Bears answered with six points of their own to make the score 21-20. Now it was decision time for the Bears.
Opting to go for the two points and win the football game, rather than force another overtime period, the Bears decided to try to run it up the middle for the score. Wesley Wollan and company had other ideas. The Winhawk D-Line acted as a brick wall and stuffed the Byron running back short, winning the game 21-20.
John Cassellius said after the game that it was the first time in around seven years that he coached a game that went into overtime. He was more just happy that the Winhawks showed up in the second half, something they failed to do a week prior against Kasson,
“It’s great to have a good 2nd half, that’s what we talked about at halftime, ‘hey, we’re in a good spot, let’s go out and finish.'”
It was a great moment for the Winhawk players to showcase their adversity, something Casselius preaches all season long,
“We talk a lot about adversity, and not just between the lines, in life too. How are you gonna respond when something good doesn’t happen, are you gonna trust the guy next to you.”
Outside of the crazy ending to the game, the Winhawks got excitement in the form of a returning player, Dominic Davis. For the first time this season, the stand-out senior running back took live snaps in a game, and boy was he missed.
He was an immediate spark, not only when he had the ball, but it seemed that his presence on the field changed the offense completely. When asked what kind of difference Davis makes, Casselius said,
“Part of it is repetition…It’s not necessarily confidence but it [Davis’ presence on the field] more instills a level of trust for our quarterbacks who are younger [inexperienced].”
Whatever it is, he helps the team and there is no doubting the need for Dominic Davis to be on the field for the Winhawks.
After such an adrenaline-inducing win, the task for Winhawk coaches is to reel their players back to reality, knowing there’s another game to play just days away.
“Obviously the win is huge…but it wasn’t like we played a perfect game…The idea isn’t to look at the win, it’s to look at how we can get better,” said Cassellius.
There are plenty of mistakes Cassellius noticed after watching the film. In particular, he pinpointed the defense giving up big plays. Byron’s two touchdowns came from long singular plays, not long drives. Take away the two big plays from Byron and the defense only gave up a mere 100 yards throughout the game. Those plays happened from mistakes, but what stood out most for Cassellius wasn’t the mistake itself, but the player taking ownership on the sideline after making a mistake, something that the unnamed player did,
“One of our mottos is, we’re gonna make mistakes, that’s okay, we don’t want to make mistakes but we have to learn from it, admit to the mistake and do everything we can to not have that same mistake happen again,” Cassellius said.
This game should prove to be a confidence-boosting W, but the Winahwk players need that confidence to transition to a good product on the field. It should also help that Deion Prolo, who missed the game against Byron, is expected to be back this coming Friday. For the first time this season, the Winhawks are expecting a fully healthy backfield, and the sky is the limit.
Winhawks host Mankato East this Friday with coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. and kickoff at 7:00 p.m. only on 101.5 FM, 1380 AM.
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