Winton Woods football back with a purpose for 2020

FOREST PARK - The only Ohio team to beat defending Division II champion La Salle last season did not make the Ohio High School Athletic Association playoffs. 

Since last November, that's been spinning around the head of Winton Woods High School coach Andre Parker. Before the Warriors took the field June 8 following new coronavirus precautions, Parker spent most of the night awake.

"I couldn't sleep last night," Parker said. "I woke up three of four times before my alarm going 'Did I miss it? Did I miss it?' I feel like I'm a kid again."

The Warriors were restricted to nine games last season and finished 6-3. A possible 10th game fell through between Thurgood Marshall and Northwest in April 2019 and after that, no one would line up with Winton Woods. 

What resulted was Winton Woods not getting the No. 8 seed because they didn't have enough points in the OHSAA system based on JoeEitel.com. Factoring Columbus and other northern teams into the largely Southwest Ohio-based Region 8, left Winton Woods at No. 9, just behind Little Miami, the No. 8 seed.

What Greater Cincinnati missed out on was a rematch between No. 1 seed La Salle and Winton Woods as the Warriors defeated the Lancers 26-21 in October. By early December, La Salle was crowned Division II champion with their only other loss coming to Kentucky 5A champion Covington Catholic. 

Getting 10 games won't be an issue this year assuming COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. The Warriors carefully followed procedure in their first day back with AD David Lumpkin personally administering the temperature checks. There were two sessions and plenty of distancing and masks. 

"I got a ton of phone calls from parents and kids the last two weeks like 'When are we going to go? What's taking so long?'" Parker said. "We wanted to make sure we did things the right way. The kids are really excited. They want to work, so it's a blessing to be here."

The Warriors are now in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference, joining Lebanon and Little Miami, which should boost the football product. Turpin, Anderson and Kings all had winning records last year and were the No. 2, No. 10 and No. 13 seeds, respectively. 

Winton Woods was 3-2 against DI schools last season falling only to state runner-up Elder in a shootout and to No. 2 seed Lakewood St. Edward as standout running back Miyan Williams (Ohio State) could only play one half. 

They also handily defeated Division III state champion Trotwood-Madison 36-7.

Offensively, quarterback Mi-Chale Wingfield will be a third-year starter. Winton Woods is 18-5 in his first two seasons. Last year, he threw for 1,212 yards and 14 touchdowns while running for 230 yards in nine games. At 6-foot-2, he has bulked up from 170 pounds as a sophomore to about 210. He recently picked up his first Division I offer from The Citadel and has been checked out by some Mid-American Conference schools.

"I feel like I've been the underdog a lot," Wingfield said. "I think bigger offers are going to start coming because I know what I can hold in. I've just got to get it out there. I think they're starting to see it."

Added Parker, "I hope he has a huge chip on his shoulder. I hope it's a chip that he manages really well. He's played in a lot of football games and he's a luxury to have."

Defensively, the Warriors have plenty of weapons including a trio of defensive backs that will play college ball. Tamarion Crumpley is a Minnesota commit who led the Warriors with four interceptions for 129 yards and had a pair of fumble recoveries.

"He's one of those kids that as soon as he walks in the door, you're excited," Parker said. "You can tell he's just been blessed. He had a good year last year and I think he's going to have an unbelievable season."

Daylan Long and Caleb Tubbs are both heading for the Miami RedHawks. Long had 37 tackles, including 7.5 for loss, 3.5 sacks and a pair of picks, while Tubbs had 25 takedowns, 3.5 for loss and an interception. Long is trying to come back from late-season knee surgery.

"Since I committed I've got a family to look forward to," Long said of Miami. "We (Winton Woods) have a lot of talent coming back. Our young boys have developed very well and I feel like we're going to be scary on the field."

On the line with a multitude of offers is Andrew "Bam" Booker, who had 50 tackles, 12.5 for loss, 6.5 blocks and two sacks. A religious young man who has participated in retreats, Booker wore a Jeremiah 29:11 t-shirt that read "trust the process" on day one.

The process has served Booker well. "Bam" has offers from Boston College, Iowa State, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Toledo, Temple, Pitt, Louisville, Rutgers, Maryland, Purdue, California and Minnesota as a 6-foot-3, 220-pound linebacker/defensive end. 

"You've got to choose what you want to do," Booker said describing the Warriors defense. "You want to run the ball on us? You've got me. You want to pass the ball, we've got Tubbs, we've got 'Mamba' (Tamarion Crumpley). You want to run we've got the linebackers (Daylan Long). We're going to be scary on defense and on our offense too."

In addition to their ECC schedule, Winton Woods plays the defending DII (La Salle) and DIII (Trotwood-Madison) champions this season.