Winona gets great start, outguns Sabine 48-3

WINONA — In Winona's first football game against Sabine since 2001, a 6-0 Cardinal victory, the Wildcats won their homecoming game in style, 48-3 over the Cardinals on Friday night.

Winona (5-0) was paced by running back C.J. Petty, who raced 92 yards around the left sideline for a touchdown on the Wildcats first play from scrimmage. Daniel Beck's extra point bounced hard off the left upright and was no good, and Winona led 6-0 with 9:18 left in the first quarter.

Winona would roll up 432 rushing yards on the night.

Petty carried the ball four times in the first half for 102 yards and one touchdown, and he was able to set the tone early. He finished the game with 168 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.

Leading 6-3, Winona scored with 31 seconds left in the first half when waters dove in from 1 yard out, giving his team a 13-3 lead going into the locker room. Sabine's Taylor Gray had gotten the Cardinals on the board earlier with a 30-yard field goal at the 7:39 mark of the second quarter. Gray's field goal was set up by the running of Jurray Todd and also quarterback Lie'Quan Byrd, rushing the ball down to the Wildcat 12 for what would turn out to be the Cardinals' deepest penetration into Winona territory in the game.

The Wildcats' Brian Waters also did some heavy damage on the ground, running for 119 yards and two touchdowns on 18 rushes. Petty fielded the opening kickoff of the second half at his own 15, then sped down the right side for 67 yards before he was knocked out of bounds by Sabine's Jeremy Carver at the Cardinal 18. Waters scored again two plays later as he broke through the middle of the Sabine defense for a 14-yard touchdown run. Beck's extra point attempt was off again and the Wildcats led 19- 3 with 11:25 left in the third quarter.

Byrd's long pass intended for Gray fell incomplete on third-and-11 from the Cardinal 29 and Byrd would have to punt the ball back to Winona. Facing a first-and-goal from the Sabine 4, the Wildcats' Josh Timmons ran up the middle for another Winona touchdown. Petty ran in the two-point conversion this time and gave his team a 27-3 lead with 4:06 to play in the third. Winona threw just one pass in the entire game, a 6-yard completion to Taylor Murphy in the third quarter.

The Cardinals continued to struggle offensively throughout the third and fourth quarters, and their opponent would take advantage. On the third play of the fourth quarter, Petty took the pitch around the left side for a 39- yard scoring run.

Byrd completed a 7-yard pass to Wes Eaton on Sabine's ensuing possession, however, the Cardinals' could not convert on third down on yet another drive as Byrd's pass on third-and-3 fell incomplete, intended for Bernard Alexander. Sabine was 2-of-19 for 15 yards passing in the game.

Winona's Clay Walker got in on the scoring act on the Wildcats' next drive, taking the handoff up the middle for a two yard touchdown run. Petty forced in the two-point conversion again and Winona led 41-3 with 8:13 left to play. Timmons rounded out the scoring with a 10-yard run up the middle with 7:06 remaining.

Timmon's score had been set up by a Cardinal fumble on the previous kickoff return at the Sabine 12. The Cardinals mounted a late drive behind the running of Alexander, getting down to the Wildcat 15, but time ran out. With the loss, Sabine falls to 2-3 (0-2 in district play) and will return home this coming Friday night to face Harleton.