(KWNO)- It was another dominant performance from the Winhawk defense last Friday as they led the team to a victory after shutting out the Cougars of Mankato, 24-0.
The Winhawk defense picked up right where it left off last week as they opened the first series of the game with an interception. It was a tone-setting play for the defense and they continued being aggressive, totaling three turnovers on the night.
After the game, I asked standout senior, Bryan Cassellius, how the defense is able to help the offense. He replied with a simple answer, “We get the ball back.”
The offense didn’t look perfect but with Dominic Davis getting his first start of the year, they scored enough points to get the job done.
Davis opened the scoring for the Winhawks with a shifty 18-yard run to the pylon from a designed option. Fireworks flew later in the 2nd quarter when Deion Prolo connected with Aiden Kronebusch for a 59-yard touchdown. There were plenty of points left out on the field, but a 24-0 victory, albeit ugly, is still a victory.
Head Coach for the Winhawks, John Cassellius said of the win,
“Defensively we played really well, creating turnovers and holding them to not a lot of yards. Offensively, a lot of the times it was just one guy missing a block and that was enough to cause havoc, we know there are things we can clean up and improve offensively.”
Cassellius continued to say that the focus in practice this week will be on themselves. Specifically, “The little things.” With an offense that has so many talented players, doing the little things is imperative to success. So far this season, those little things have been the difference in making a play or not making a play. That’s why, although 3-1, there’s plenty of room for improvement. This should be quite exciting for Winhawk fans, the best is still yet to come,
“You know I think we’re pretty close [to reaching their potential], we’re right on the edge. That’s kind of the best part about it, we know there’s room for growth,” said Cassellius.
The Winhawks will have a great opportunity to fix their mistakes and gain some much-needed confidence offensively come this Saturday when they face off with Albert lea. A team that the Winhawks have historically had great success with as they are undefeated against the Tigers since 2017. As far as this year, the Winhawks should continue to have their way as Albert Lea remains winless, including a loss to Red Wing. The Tiger defense gives up a whopping 45 points a game, so now is the perfect time for the Winhawks to ‘get right’ on the offensive side of the football.
Winhawks will kick off from Albert Lea this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. with coverage starting at 12:30 p.m. only on Real Country 101.5 FM, 1380 AM.
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