RECRUITING : Helena-West Helena prospects continue to shine

OTIS KIRK

Posted on Sunday, October 5, 2008

URL: http://www.wholehogsports.com/adg/239347/

FORREST CITY — Helena-West Helena Central took control of Friday night’s game and cruised to a 45-6 victory over host Forrest City.

Future Razorbacks Darius Winston and Turell Williams put on a show for the large crowd in attendance. Williams, 6-2, 215 pounds, 4. 52 seconds in the 40-yard dash, rushed for 203 yards and 1 touchdown on 10 carries from his tailback spot. Winston, 6-1, 190, 4. 37, a cornerback and the state’s top recruiting prospect, had 4 pass breakups, 3 tackles and 16 yards on 3 punt returns.

In addition, quarterback Deondre Johnson, 5-10, 170, 4. 5, completed 5 of 7 passes for 82 yards and 2 touchdowns and rushed 11 times for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns. Johnson is still weighing his options as far as recruiting is concerned.

The Cougars are still unbeaten on the season, with only a tie against West Memphis keeping their record from being spotless. Winston feels this team can be as good as it wants to be.

“I feel like we came out focused tonight and played a pretty good game,” Winston said. “I think we’re making better strides than I thought we would [at this point in the season ]. We’re planning on getting better during the season.”

Winston is rated a five-star recruit by Rivals. com, the highest ranking possible, and is ranked the No. 2 cornerback in the nation by the same recruiting service. Winston said Friday night he feels very good about his commitment to Arkansas. Winston was all over the field Friday night and didn’t allow a completion.

“I feel like right now I’m playing pretty good,” Winston said. “I can play a whole lot better, and I need to do a lot more work on my punt returns.”

Winston knows he’s not going to get many passes thrown in his direction, but he is fine with that.

“I kind of like that,” Winston said. “It gives my other cornerback more opportunities to make a play, and that helps the defense out a lot. They run away from me and it makes me a little frustrated, but I have to keep my head in the game.”

Johnson is possibly the best high school player in Arkansas, and on a team loaded with college prospects, Johnson is the player most high school coaches fear the most.

“I think I played great tonight,” Johnson said Friday. “I think we’re playing good enough to win a championship.”

Johnson had 201 yards of total offense and accounted for three touchdowns. It’s that kind of leadership that makes him such a talented player despite not having the size many recruiters prefer.

“I don’t want to come out and show just one part of my game,” Johnson said. “I want to show both.”

Johnson helped lead the Cougars to a surprisingly easy victory over Pulaski Academy in the season opener. Johnson feels that game helped propel his team to the start it’s enjoying.

“We’re going all the way this year if we stay focused and play hard,” Johnson said. “The PA win set our goals high, and we try to do better every night.”

Williams is enjoying a healthy season and is looking forward to helping lead his team to the playoffs this season before heading to Arkansas. On Friday night against the Mustangs, he averaged more than 20 yards per carry.

“I wanted to come out and make a statement since I didn’t play well in this game last year,” Williams said. “I came out with my mind right.”

Williams battled injuries last season, but is healthy this season and has 443 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns on just 46 carries in 5 games.

“I run a whole lot different this year,” Williams said. “I was pretty much hurt last year. I had a broken bone in my foot, so I feel a whole lot better right now. I’m a whole new player.”

Williams, like Johnson and Winston, feels this team can be as good as it wants to be if it continues to work hard and improve.

“I truly believe with this team, we have a whole different team,” Williams said. “People have said we have never had a winning tradition and always find a way to lose. This is a whole new thing with a good coaching staff. If we stay focused, I feel we can play with any team.”