AUBURN — When fall abruptly hits in Maine, the change in season brings cold temps and sometimes gusty winds. That’s not so great for football season, and the wind contributed to the five interceptions in Windham’s 15-6 win over Edward Little on Thursday night.
“Windy night, ball’s going to carry a little bit,” Windham coach Matt Perkins said. “We had a couple of misreads, and they had a couple, but the passes came back.”
Despite the wind, Eagles quarterback Patrick Davenport was able to connect with Landon Wyman on a 29-yard touchdown pass that gave Windham a 7-0 lead late in the first half.
“We saw the defense was biting down on the pass a lot, so we threw a fade,” Davenport said. “I trusted my receiver, put the ball out there for him and he made a good play. Very happy for that, it was a great all-around experience. O-line blocked great there. Not much we could have done better.”
Davenport did throw two interceptions, while Edward Little quarterback Evan Madigan had three.
Red Eddies coach Brian Jahan said the two interceptions on defense gave his team a boost.
“It was big for us, because we haven’t had a whole lot of those kinds of plays, so to get a turnaround like that, defensively, was really helpful,” Jahna said. “When we turned it over, it was when we were really trying to go for something big. We’re a little bit outside of our system, so it hurt, obviously, but it didn’t happen at impact times so much for us, whereas defensively, I think that it really did happen more at an impact time.”
RISKY MOVES REAP SOME REWARD
Madigan scored Edward Little’s touchdown on a 1-yard run with about eight minutes left in the fourth quarter. Wins have been hard to come by for both teams, and both entered the game with 1-5 records, so rather than try to tie the game with a kick, the Red Eddies decided to go for the lead.
But the 2-point conversion attempt failed, and Windham maintained the lead, 7-6.
The Eagles scored again, on a 1-yard run by Jordan Pastore with 2:15 left. They set up for a kick, but instead, Wyman, the holder passed the ball to Colin McKenna, who made a diving catch in the end zone for a 2-point conversion and a 15-6 Windham lead.
“We practice special teams a lot in practice, especially PAT and PAT block, so we spent a lot of time practicing that and caught them off guard there good, so it worked out great,” Davenport said.”
Windham also played several freshman on the offensive and defensive lines because of injuries, which Perkins said have plagued the Eagles throughout the season. Edward Little’s offensive strategy is to “ground and pound,” gaining 4 to 5 yards at a time, so the younger defensive line had to respond with hard hits to limit yardage.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
• Windham (2-5): Jordan Pastore (16 carries, 34 yards, TD), Patrick Davenport (6 for 13, 56 yards passing, TD; 6 carries, 43 yards), Landon Wyman (29-yard TD catch), Mason Arbour (3 catches, 21 yards).
• Edward Little (1-6): Evan Madigan (18 carries, 67 yards), Quan Bullock (10 carries, 28 yards), Dawson Breton (9 carries, 33 yards)
THEY SAID IT
• “The play before we were also in the red zone, and we called a QB run. I was like, damn, and then Pat (Davenport) went out (of bounds), 1-yard line. It felt good to hear my name and get the ball. Getting in the end zone feels good. It’s my favorite feeling, so it felt good to score.” — Windham sophomore Jordan Pastore
• “We just wanted to come out and compete. We haven’t done that in the last couple of games really well, and I think we did that tonight. I don’t think that many people gave us much of a chance to compete tonight, and I think we did that. We’re really proud of them.” — Edward Little coach Brian Jahna
• “Both of us are trying to fight for a win, and the more wins, the better. So, really, it was a dogfight both ways, and we just came out on top in the end.” — Windham sophomore Patrick Davenport
• “Evan (Madigan’s) just one of the toughest kids I’ve ever coached. He plays offense, defense and special teams. He’s our quarterback, but he’s a pure quarterback, so he’s often pulling the ball and running it, just takes contact. … Just a tremendous leader. Just doesn’t seem to fatigue. He trains year round. He’s a wrestler, so he has a wrestler’s mentality, and he’s really important to the entire team.” — Jahna