Westbrook 20

Windham 7

The last game of the regular season for the Westbrook Blue Blazes and the Windham Eagles ended with a torrential downpour and a 20-7 win for the Blazes. Westbrook was up 20-0 at halftime, thanks to touchdown rushes from Brian Doyle, Ian Levinsky, and Dominic DiBiase. The Windham touchdown came from a one yard quarterback keeper from Arthur Winship in the third quarter.

Westbrook finished their season with a record of 3-5, and Windham finished at 1-7.

“The kids played great tonight,” said Westbrook head coach Daryle Weiss. “I’m real proud of the seniors. I tell you, I’m going to miss that class of seniors, and I’m proud of everybody’s effort.”

Windham opened the game with possession, but Westbrook forced a three-and-out and scored on their first drive on DiBiase’s one yard rush. The score stayed at 6-0 after the two-point conversion was no good.

Westbrook forced a Windham fumble to open the second quarter, and converted the turnover into their second touchdown six plays later on a 14-yard quarterback keeper from Doyle. During the drive, Doyle had 61 yards of the team’s offense, most of it coming on a long 40-yard rush. The score was 14-0 after the two-point conversion.

Doyle finished the game with 103 yards of total offense and a touchdown.

The Blazes closed out the first half with their third and final touchdown, this one on a nine yard rush from Ian Levinsky. The score stayed 20-0 after Westbrook didn’t get the two point conversion.

Westbrook opened the second half on offense, and nearly scored on a pass from Doyle to Corey Luce, but the ball hit the ground first and was ruled a trapped catch. From there, after the turnover on downs, Windham scored on an 18 play drive that included a 30-yard pass from Arthur Winship to Travis Guerrette. The drive ended with a one-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown from Winship, and after the PAT, the scoreboard read 20-7 in favor of Westbrook.

With the 2007 season now in the books for both teams, each coaching staff and the returning players will now start preparing for the 2008 season with a feeling of optimism.

“We’re heading in the right direction,” said Weiss. “The attitude is right, the kids are great kids, and I can’t wait to get to work in the off-season. I’m excited for next season.”

“The kids battled hard every game, they gave it everything they had, and laid it all on the line, so there’s nothing you can complain about,” said Windham head coach Matt Perkins. “We’ve got a lot of young guys that are sophomores and juniors coming up. We’ve got a bright future.”

“(The seniors) have done a really great job leading the team,” said Perkins. “That’s one thing you hope for as a coach, you hope they leave better men, and you hope they got something out of it. Wins and losses, unfortunately people think that that’s everything. To see guys leave, and be better young men, to me, that’s what it’s really all about. We have some fine young guys that are going on, and I’m real excited for them and their future.”