The Portland-Windham showdown was mentioned to be one of the matchups that could go to the wire. Number two Windham (7-2) played number one Portland (9-0) at Fitzpatrick stadium last Friday night.
Portland edged out Windham 10-3 on September 18th
during the regular season play when Bull Dogs Dylan Bolduc’s ran a 97-yard
interception return with less than a second remaining in the first half which
gave the Bulldogs a 7-3 lead. The Bulldogs added a 41-yard John Williams field
goal in the third quarter.
Windham played in the regional final for a second
straight year, which is noteworthy considering the Eagles’ rash of injuries
this fall. The rematch was predicted to
be another defensive battle or the offenses would prevail. Anything can happen
when these teams play one another.
Windham lost Dylan Koza, a running back/defensive back,
for the season with a knee injury in the first game. Eric Webb, a wide
receiver/defensive back, was lost at the end of the last Portland game. The
Eagles have had other injuries but some of those players have returned to play.
Portland is led by Joe Esposito and George Chaison-Lapine,
and Kyle Houser and Griffin Jacobson have been Windham’s top runners.
“It should be a good physical matchup,” said Windham coach
Matt Perkins.
As Windham and Portland fans packed the stands on a very
chilly night to watch which team would walk away the victors, the players
themselves warmed up on the field. Some
of them realizing this could be their last high school game as they will be
graduating in the spring, while others on the sidelines wished they could be in
the game.
Field position seemed to be the biggest advantage in this
game as both coaches agreed, that’s what made the outcome what it was. “They were sticking us behind the line of
scrimmage,” said coach Perkins, “I thought we had a little momentum in the
first half but then they popped the big one.
It was all about field position in the second half.”
The Bulldogs took a 3-0 lead late in the first
quarter. But an interception by Kyle
Houser, followed by a 23-yard run and three plays later, Cameron Hoffses scored
Windham’s only touchdown.
The game then came down to one big play – an 80-yard run
by Portland’s Joe Esposito halfway into the second quarter. The same scenario that happened during the
regular season game; one big play – changed the momentum of the game.
Portland led 10-7 at halftime, then scored on its first
drive during the second half of game making the score 17-7. Field position and a tough defense kept
Portland in control the rest of the game.
“I’ve never been around a team that had to face so much
adversity” said Perkins “I can’t say enough about our senior leadership. Dylan Koza and Eric Webb were great helping
the younger kids learn their roles. We
started four freshmen in tonight’s game.”
The Eagles may have ended their season, but what a season
it ended up being.
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