Peyton Gilbert (3) leaves the Crusaders’ defense behind. (Photo/Martha Ladd)
WINNSBORO (Oct. 10, 2016) – Richard Winn needed no big preparation for a shortened week due to Hurricane Matthew. Despite the bad loss the previous week to Andrew Jackson, the Eagles bounced back Thursday against the Crusaders of Curtis Baptist in a dominant 62-8 victory.
“I was extremely proud on how we bounced back after that humiliating loss last week,” Richard Winn head coach Robert O’Connell said. “The loss to Andrew Jackson put some enthusiasm back into our guys this week because we feel that our guys are a much better team than the team that showed up that night.”
The Eagles started the game with a 20-0 lead just 6 minutes into the first quarter. The Eagles expanded on that lead with a marvelous double pass as Zack Taylor hit Mitchell Gibbons, who later passed it 40 yards to a wide open Noah Edwards to increase their lead 28-0.
Curtis Baptist responded with a touchdown of their own to make it 28-8, but then Gibbons raced to the end zone for a 79 yard touchdown to end the first quarter with the Eagles up 35-8.
“I thought our physicality up front in the trenches gave us an opportunity to employ our will on them this game, where last week we were dominated on both ends of the ball,” O’Connell said.
The Eagles continued their onslaught as Taylor scored the next 14 points, giving the Eagles a 49-8 halftime lead.
“I think the play from Zach and Mitchell helped us get into a great groove offensively early enough in the game to make sure we played to our best ability,” O’Connell said. “I feel last week we took too long to get into our groove of things and that led to us getting down early, forcing us to dig out of a hole too steep to climb out of.”
With a running clock the entire second half, Richard Winn continued their strong performance scoring 13 more points with their young guys completing the victory 62-8 over the Crusaders of Curtis Baptist.
“With three games remaining I feel we have begun to get to our peak on both sides of the ball,” O’Connell said. “We will need to continue from the success of this game as we try to get a good position for seeding in the playoffs because that is our main objective right now as our region play comes to a close.”
The Eagles travel to Laurens Academy this Friday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
