After watching Dayton Winn rush for more than 2,000 yards over hisfirst two seasons in a Pea Ridge uniform, Blackhawks coach Tony Travisknew the 143-pound tailback would be the main focus of opposing defenses this past season.
With seniors at every spot on offense, PeaRidge was going to be more balanced offensively, but Winn would still be the workhorse of the offense.
So, Travis had Winn hit the weights in the offseason, and the extra work paid off for the senior.
Winn added about 20 pounds and still increased his 40-yard dash time. That extra weight proved beneficial as Winn rushed for 2,181 yards and 21 touchdowns as the Blackhawks finished with a 10-2 record.
For his efforts, Winnis the All-NWA Media Offensive Player of the Year.
“The thing that separates Dayton Winn as a senior from Dayton Winn as a junior was that he was tackled by one arm a lot of the time,” Travis said. “He was brought down by the first guy that hit him. This year he put on muscle and you could see the difference this year.
“He has always been a tough runner, but this year he had more power carrying the football.”
Winn said adding the extra weight and speed came easily.
“I did a lot of weight lifting, and I drank a lot of protein shakes with my meals,” Winn said.
Winn finished his career with 4,383 yards rushing, which is something that doesn’t surprise Travis.
Winn was on the Pea Ridge junior high team when Travis first took over the Blackhawks program.
“The first thing I noticed about Dayton the first time I saw him play was his vision and balance,” Travis said. “It’s not anything you can teach, he has it for a tailback. He has the ability to see and make cuts. He can do all that and keep his balance, and that makes him a very good runner.”
Winn played almost every offensive and defensive down this season, and he even returned kickoffs and punts. Despite the playingtime, Winn had an injuryfree senior season.
“Conditioning plays a big part of it,” Winn said. “You also have to be mentally prepared every play of every game. You do that for the teammate next to you. Being taught the proper technique on how to hit and take a hit was probably the biggest reason I stayed injury-free.”
Even when he wasn’t carrying the football, Winn didn’t shy away from contact.
“A lot of the time Dayton is the lead blocker on a lot of our other runs,” Travis said.
“Basically, he becomes the fullback, and he did a good job with that - one of the toughest players that I have ever coached.”
Sports, Pages 8 on 12/19/2012