Windham football drops home opener to Noble

By Matt Pascarella

In their home opener on Friday, Sept. 6, Windham’s varsity football team left everything it had on the field in a game against Noble. The Knights pulled ahead early, but Windham wasn’t about to get shutout – and they didn’t. They fought hard but could not catch Noble and fell, 28-14.

Windham sophomore Parker Sperry tries to get past a Noble
High defender during a prep football game at Windham
High School on Friday, Sept. 6.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA   

“We had some injuries ... so it was on the fly, and we had a bunch of seniors who haven’t been starters before who had to play; they’re learning on the job,” said Windham varsity football coach Matt Perkins. “That’s the thing with us, stay positive, keep working, it’s a long season and you got to win to get in the postseason. You can’t pout and put your head down – it is what it is. Noble’s a good team and has all their guys back from last year. Windham’s hustle was great; near the end of the game, they didn’t pack it in, they continued to battle. With the injuries we’ve got to see who’s where, and what we’ve got to do to fix that situation. We got to clean that up and continue to execute from both sides of the ball.”

Both teams were scoreless in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Noble made it to the 15-yard line, but Windham shut them down. Unfortunately, the Knights later scored and got the extra point. Before the end of the half, Noble scored again. Windham kept their heads up, and continued to work hard. At the half, Noble led 14-0.

“We put in work all week,” said Windham sophomore Parker Sperry, who had 66 rushing yards in the game. “We lost a few players to injury. We need to prepare more and have our heads in a better place to get ready to go battle. Noble is a good team with really good players, just came up short. All of the guys, we didn’t hang our heads ... we’re all trying our best, we played as hard as we could.”

The second half saw the Eagles taking the field fired up, if not more, than in the first half. Windham had possession at their 30-yard line. After a first down, they completed a pass to junior AJ Moody, and he hauled it into the end zone. Moody had 69 receiving yards in the game. The extra point was good, and Windham only trailed 14-7.

Noble scored another touchdown, but the game was not over, and Windham wasn’t finished. Cheers from the sidelines could be heard of Windham players telling other Windham players “you are still in this” and “keep your head up.”

On a first and 10, Windham sophomore Landon Wyman made it to Noble’s 30-yard line for a first down. Later during that series on a first and goal, Windham senior quarterback Karl Longstreth crossed the goal line. Windham nailed the extra point and trailed Noble, 28-14.

“Offensively, we did really good – we had guys on the line, on the tight end,” said Longstreth, who had 124 passing yards against Noble. “We had a guy that broke, and we had guys that came and stepped up and we need people like that. We have guys that are pushing 100 percent every day and guys that are looking forward to a new opportunity. Little mistakes, penalties, off-sides (got in the way). We came in the end zone four times; it was just little penalties that kept us from getting a touchdown and another. We need to stay consistent; we have great coaches, and we need to believe in them and trust what they give us.”

Despite their efforts, Windham couldn’t get ahead and the Eagles finished with 116 rushing yards and 124 passing yards.

“People might ... look at it as not a great way to start the season, but it’s just team building,” said Moody. “Our team chemistry is getting closer and closer by the second, everyone on this team is a family. We don’t care how the outcome is we care how we build off it. I saw how our defense really competed at the highest level they have this week. Our offensive line ... pushed and left nothing in the tank. We’re such a great team we’re going to get greater and greater as the season goes on. We have seniors that are getting into the mix now, we have some freshman and, man we’re going to go far.” <