Jimmy McKeown (13) hauls in a Mitchell Gibbons pass. (Photo/Martha Ladd)
WINNSBORO (Sept. 26, 2016) – Richard Winn (4-1, 1-0) kicked off their annual homecoming game with exciting opening game festivities. The excitement did not die after the pregame fest as Richard Winn’s Mitchell Gibbons accounted for five touchdowns leading the Eagles to a 39-6 victory over the Saints of Clarendon Hall (2-3, 0-1) giving them their first region win of the season.
“I am happy how our ground game started off the tempo of our offense tonight,” RWA head coach Robert O’Connell said. “The ground game got Mitchell into a rhythm early and we used his energy to assert ourselves tonight to get the win.”
Gibbons started his five-touchdown performance with a short touchdown run giving the Eagles a 6-0 lead with 7:21 left in the opening quarter. Clarendon Hall’s D. Way used his running ability to give the Saints great field position in Eagles territory. Despite Way’s opening drive performance the Eagles defense completed a goal-line stand to keep the Saints out the end zone.
“Our defense played tremendous early on in tonight’s game keeping the Saints grounded and not breaking when put in some tremendous situations,” O’Connell said.
Peyton Gilbert’s short touchdown run with 11:22 left in the second quarter gave the Eagles a 12-0 lead. Gibbons then capped off a downfield drive after another defensive stand by the Eagles with a touchdown pass to Noah Edwards giving the Eagles an 18-0 lead with 4:20 left in the half.
The Clarendon Hall Saints would attempt a drive to score points before the half but fumbled deep in the red zone giving Richard Winn a chance to capitalize with 1:44 left in the half. Gibbons made the Saints pay with a touchdown pass to Christian Christianson giving the Eagles a 25-0 halftime lead.
After a scoreless third quarter by both teams, Gibbons kicked off the fourth quarter with a 65-yard touchdown run increasing the Eagles’ lead to 32-0 with 10:50 left in the game. Backup quarterback Zach Taylor finished the Eagles scoring for the night hitting Edwards for his second touchdown catch, increasing the lead 39-0.
“I am proud of how great we have been playing since our opening season loss,” O’Connell said. “I felt the loss woke us up a bit. Hopefully we can continue to build off that loss and this four-game win streak to further give us a chance to have a remarkable season.”
Richard Winn’s next game is Sept. 30 at Andrew Jackson Academy at 7:30 p.m.
