WINDHAM — Desmond Leslie ran in a pair of touchdowns and threw for two others to lead Windham past Edward Little 27-6 in a Class A North football game Friday night.

Leslie got some help from Blake Houser, who led the Eagles (3-2) in receiving with three grabs for 145 yards and two touchdowns.

The pair connected on the game’s first score with 31 seconds left in the first quarter. Houser caught a pass on the right side, broke a tackle and scampered up the sideline for a 75-yard touchdown.

“That was Blake,” said Leslie. “I just had to throw a little swing pass and he had to break a tackle. He did all the work. The blocking was great tonight, too.”

The score remained 7-0 until late in the second quarter. Leslie rolled out to his right to see Houser streaking down the sidelines uncovered. Leslie tossed a beautiful pass and Houser took it the rest of the way for a 70-yard touchdown with 1:22 remaining.

Windham failed on the 2-point conversion and carried a 13-0 lead into halftime.

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Edward Little (2-3) scored its lone touchdown with 5:39 remaining in the third quarter on Grant Hartley’s 17-yard pass to Tyler Blanchard.

The point after was blocked but the touchdown cut Edward Little’s deficit to 13-6.

“That (blocked point after) was a big play,” said Windham Coach Matt Perkins.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Leslie took off up the middle on a quarterback draw for a 10-yard touchdown. The point after was good to give Windham a 20-6 advantage.

Leslie then put the finishing touches on the win with a 33-yard touchdown run with just over six minutes remaining.

He finished 10 of 16 for 177 yards passing while adding 111 yards on the ground to go with his four total touchdowns.

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“(Leslie) had a great game,” said Perkins.

Hartley attempted 22 passes in the first half for the Red Eddies, and finished 24 of 41 for 207 yards with the touchdown and an interception.

“(Throwing a lot) is their M.O.,” said Perkins.

Windham put a lot of pressure on Hartley and got to him consistently, generating three sacks.

“(Putting pressure) on (Hartley) was part of our game plan tonight. That was something we had to do,” said Perkins.

Windham had lost its past two games after starting the season 2-0. The Eagles hope this victory can get them back on track.

“A lot of people think Thornton Academy is the best team in the league and we played them tough,” said Perkins, referring to Windham’s 17-13 loss on the road against the Trojans last week.

“This definitely got us back in the winning way,” said Leslie. “It’s a nice place to be.”

Windham will look to keep momentum rolling next week when it hosts Bonny Eagle.


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