Portland 19

Westbrook 14

One yellow hankie.

That’s all it took to change the face of Westbrook’s 2008 season opener against Portland at Westbrook’s Olmsted Field last Friday night.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, with Westbrook down 19-14, the Blazes had the ball at their own 27. Catching the Bulldogs’ defense off guard, the Blazes, who had stuck to the ground game most of the night, called for a pass.

Westbrook quarterback Tom Pratt found receiver Ollie Steele wide open, and Steele blasted by the defense and brought the crowd to its feet with an apparent 73-yard touchdown.

But the celebration was quickly subdued by that yellow hankie on the field.

The call was ineligible man downfield against the Blazes, and instead of a 20-19 lead with the extra point still to come, Westbrook was faced with a first-and-15 from their own 22, and Portland was able to hold on to stop the drive and preserve the 19-14 win, foiling the Blazes’ attempt to win two consecutive games for the first time ever against the Bulldogs.

Despite the final score, Westbrook played a tough game against Portland, holding the Bulldogs to just six second half points while keeping themselves in the game right to the end.

Both offenses kept the ball on the ground throughout the game, with the Bulldogs recording zero passing yards in the contest and the Blazes recording just over 20 yards passing in the game.

Portland got on the board first in the first quarter thanks to a pounding running attack from sophomores Imadhi Zagon and Carl Szanton, who carried the load on a drive that started on the Westbrook 44 after a high snap on a Westbrook punt attempt caused a turnover on downs.

Zagon got the first points of the game on a six-yard touchdown run with 3:37 left in the first quarter. After Szanton added the extra point, it was 7-0, Portland and the Westbrook fans were quiet.

But then Steele gave them a reason to go wild.

Steele took the ensuing kickoff, bringing the crowd to its feet as he took the kick at the Westbrook 10 and sliced through the middle of the Bulldogs’ coverage and outraced everyone for a 90-yard score.

Westbrook first-year head coach Jeff Guerette said that Steele is one of the Blazes’ top playmakers. “He’s one of our best athletes,” Guerette said. “We just try to get him the ball as much as possible.”

Pratt put the exclamation point on the score when he found Bryan Crouse wide open in the end zone for the two-point conversion, making it 8-7 with 3:23 left in the quarter.

But, before the fans could even settle back in their seats, the unthinkable happened.

On the ensuing kickoff, Zagon answered Steele’s runback with a 90-yard touchdown runback of his own, and after the two-point conversion failed, the score was 13-8, Portland with 3:10 to go in the first quarter.

After those fireworks, the Bulldogs and the Blazes settled into a defensive struggle, with neither team being able to mount a serious drive for the rest of the first quarter and into the second quarter.

About two minutes into the second quarter, however, Westbrook was able to take advantage of a bad Portland punt to retake the lead.

After taking over on the Bulldogs’ 32, Westbrook handed the ball to senior back Pat Webber three consecutive times, and Webber got the job done with a 17-yard touchdown run with 10:12 left in the first half. Westbrook was unable to convert on the two-point attempt, leaving the score at 14-13 in favor of the Blazes.

Portland did start to mount a drive later in the quarter, going from their 39 to the Blazes’ 41, but as Zagon tried a halfback option pass, Westbrook’s Jake Gardiner pressured him, causing the pass to float and Westbrook’s Joshua Wood picked it off and brought it back to the Blazes’ 31.

However, Westbrook wasn’t able to take advantage and the teams went into the halftime break with Westbrook still in front by one.

The defensive struggle continued through most of the third quarter, with both teams exchanging punts. But, with just 5.5 seconds left in the third, Westbrook caught a bad break. A low snap on a punt attempt at the Blazes’ 18 got by Wood and Portland’s Joel DiPietro scooped up the ball and took it in for a score. The two-point attempt was no good and at the end of three, the Bulldogs had a 19-14 lead.

That’s where the score would stay, though Westbrook battled right to the end.

With 5:15 left to go in the game, the Blazes’ Steven Wescott jumped on a Zagon fumble, giving Westbrook the ball at their own 11. Thanks to runs from Webber and Pratt, Westbrook moved the ball out to their own 42.

With 1:27 to go in the game, Pratt found Steele up the middle for an 18-yard gain, getting the ball to the Bulldogs’ 40. But after two incomplete passes and a fumbled snap, Pratt’s last-ditch attempt to Steele fell short, and Portland held on to win.

They said it

Despite the loss, Guerette said he was pleased with the way his team performed in his first game at the helm. “I’m proud of the way the kids played,” he said. “The kids played incredible. We played hard to the very last play. If the effort and intensity are there (all season), we’ll win.”

Unsung hero

While Steele was certainly the player of the game for the Blazes, quarterback Tom Pratt kept them in the game despite throwing very few passes. Pratt was able to get some big yards on quarterback keepers, and he even came up with a few plays on defense, including a second quarter sack of Portland quarterback Jason Strauss.

Play of the game

The penalty call that nullified the Steele touchdown in the third quarter was the turning point of the game. If the play had stood, Westbrook would have had the lead and the momentum going into the final quarter.

Up next

The Blazes hit the road this Friday night (Sept. 12) to take on 1-0 Deering in a 7 p.m. game. The Rams come into the game off a 21-14 road win last week at Windham.