Winona (5-1) was just outside the top 10 in the Class 5A Associated Press poll last week, and will truly be considered among the state’s best if the Winhawks can upset No. 1-4A Stewartville (6-0).
Winona is having a resurgent season after going 4-6 a year ago. The Winhawks defense has recorded three shutouts this season, including two of its last three. Four of their five wins have come by three touchdowns or more, but Winona can also win close as evidenced by a 21-20 overtime victory against Byron (4-2). Last week’s 22-0 win against Faribault featured a 138-yard rushing night by junior Dominic Davis, who added two TDs, per Digital Scout. Davis rushed 19 times for 160 yards and a TD against Stewartville last year.
Stewartville has been a team on a mission. The Tigers may feel like they have unfinished business to take care of after last year’s 8-0 regular season was spoiled in an upset overtime loss to Byron in the Class 4A, Section 1 semifinals.
Stewie, as the kids call it, has been just as, if not more dominant so far in 2022. The Tigers averaged 56.4 points per game in their first five games of the season. The smallest margin in that stretch was a 44-0 win in a revenge game against Byron (4-2). The closest brush with defeat came last week as Stewartville notched a 31-10 win against Kasson-Mantorville (4-2), the 2021 Class 4A state runner up. The Tigers were up 14-0 after one quarter and were in command the whole way.
Stewartville won last year’s meeting with Winona 41-14, but the Winhawks kept it close for a while, trailing just 18-14 at halftime. Davis got his yards on the ground, but Stewartville took away everyone else and forced all three Winona passes to fall incomplete.
The Tigers have a new quarterback and running back this year. This is a team that can afford to reload instead of rebuild. Junior QB Ayden Helder is 54 of 82 on the year with 884 yards, 16 TDs and just two interceptions. Senior Owen Sikkink is the bell cow with 601 yards on a meager 52 carries (11.6 ypc) with 12 TDs.
A win for either team would all but lock up the top seed in Class 4A, Section 1.