(KWMN)- The Winona Senior High football team saw plenty to be proud of on Friday night, but self-inflicted wounds, penalties and missed opportunities lead to loss number four in a row as the Winhawks drop to 1-4 on the season.
The Winona defense, who struggled in the three-game slide entering Friday night, answered the bell. They only gave up two scores to Kasson-Mantorville, an offense that has scored 102 points in their three wins.
They allowed a few big plays here and there, but for the most point, shut down the triple-option threat and gave a chance for the Winona offense to get the job done.
The offense, however, couldn’t hold onto the ball. Deion Prolo, senior QB, had plenty of moments that wowed, but the two mistakes were as costly as ever. He threw two picks in this one, both being returned for a touchdown.
Senior running back Jaden Blanck ran wild in a bounce back game after being shut down against St. Croix Lutheran. He eclipsed 140 yards but couldn’t find the endzone.
“I think some of it was just self-inflicted wounds…Those two pick sixes–if you would’ve said if our defense gives up 14 points would we have won? I would’ve said yes. Good things to look at it, good things to fix, but we were right there,” John Cassellius, head coach for the Winhawks said after the win.
The penalties were causing fits for the Winhawks as well. Winona was flagged over 14 times in the game, most of which coming from the offensive side of the ball.
“I think [those] are mental mistakes. If we can get ourselves out of those bad situations, ya know, then we can keep drives going,” Cassellius said of the penalties.
The team is competing night in and night out. Weather it’s turnovers, penalties, or slow starts, they have yet to be able to put together a full 48 minutes of football. When they can do that, they should look fairly dangerous. The talent is there, but there’s work to be done to put it all together.
“Penalties. Those got to disappear. And we can’t throw pick sixes. Let ’em try and score on our defense, let’s let our offense score on them,” Cassellius said, speaking frankly when asked where to improve.
The Winhawks will hit the road this Friday night, looking to put an end to this losing streak. They get set to face a Faribault team who they haven’t lost to since 2021.
Other Area Scores
Rushford-Peterson (2-3) 54-6 Hayfield (1-4)
Fillmore Central (4-1) 42-14 Cotter (3-2)
Caledonia (4-1) 28-0 La Crescent (1-4)
Lewiston Altura (4-1) 43-8 Wabasha-Kellogg (2-3)
Houston (2-3) 48-20 Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons (1-4)
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