(KWMN)- It was an unsuccessful Friday night for both area high school football teams as The Trojans and Winhawks lost in their week three matchups to fall below .500.
Winona
Winona saw a repeat of their week two misfortunes, digging themselves into an early hole, but this time unable to fight their way back, losing 45-18.
Deion Prolo had his first game where he struggled to find success, throwing 11 of 20 passes for a completion and only 96 yards. It was also his second straight week throwing an interception on the first possession for the Winhawk offense.
Head coach for the Winhawks, John Cassellius was asked what the message for Prolo was,
“For him to be understanding that he’s going to have some pressure sometimes…It wasn’t a bad throw [the interception], the receiver just cut the wrong way…It’s all the little things about being on the same page and doing things right. And you know that’s the tricky part,” he said.
Prolo was also limited on the ground as well, something we don’t often see when it comes to Prolo’s ability to run the ball.
The bright spot for the Winona offense, was Jaden Blanck. The senior running back once again ripped off a 70-yard touchdown, his second in as many weeks. Blanck was an impressive 12 for 150 in the game, as well as the one touchdown.
The crux issue through two games for Winona High has been their inability to get the push up front needed. Cassellius talked about the pressure Prolo may receive on any given drop back, but the issue extends further than just pass rush. Often times the opposition can bulldoze through the line too quickly, and on the other side of the ball, the Winhawks are unable to get into the backfield
The Winhawk defense is still searching for their first sack of the season. And they’ve struggled against the run in consecutive weeks, allowing over 250 yards on the ground in both losses to Mondovi and Byron. Cassellius knows it’s an issue, but the focus isn’t on the opponent, more so than themselves,
“We just got to say hey let’s bring our lunch pale and get to work…We talked a lot about focusing on ourselves, and we just got to get better on our own end. We’re going to play who we’re playing, we got to be ready to rock and roll, but we got to be more physical. We looked at what we were starting out there, and it’s three sophomores and two juniors on the O-Line. We can be really talented behind them, but we got to give them time and creases, and there wasn’t,” Cassellius said.
Winona will look to bounce back and get back to .500 this Friday night when they hit the road to take on St. Croix Lutheran. One season ago, St. Croix Lutheran narrowly edged out a victory over the Winhawks 22-21. St. Croix Lutheran was featured in the first weekly state rankings, coming in at #8 in Class 3A.
Revenge will be on their minds again, but Cassellius says the focus will stay on themselves throughout practice this week.
Rushford-Peterson
The Trojan football team dropped to 1-2 as well last Friday night, falling to the mighty Goodhue Wildcats, 31-6. Goodhue is ranked the 5th team in the class, and proved it last Friday night, having their way with the Trojans.
RP will have to dig deep to improve quickly, as the schedule doesn’t get much easier. Another tough side visits Rushford-Peterson high this Friday when Fillmore Central comes to town.
Stay tuned for further updates on RP football this week, right here on winonaradio.com.
Other HS Football Scores
Blooming Prairie 49-23 Wabasha-Kellogg
Cotter 6-0 Kenyon-Wanamingo
Lewiston-Altura 57-12 Hayfield
Houston 60-Mabel Canton 20
Fillmore Central 54-16 Bethlehem Academy
Caledonia 13-20 Chatfield
Kasson-Mantorville 47-7 Austin
Faribault 28-7 Concordia Academy
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