Eight – count ’em, eight – Eagles added points in Windham’s 61-22 throttling of visitors Lewiston on Friday, including Dylan Koza with a pair of red-zone rush TDs, Eric Webb with a long punt-return TD and Tanner Laberge with an interception-return TD.

“We’re well-balanced, would probably be our strength,” Windham head coach Matt Perkins said. “From tackle to tackle on the line; we have two very good tight-ends; three, four, five good runningbacks; both quarterbacks; the receiver core is great; and defensively, we feel we have some real depth there, too. We have a lot of guys that’re buying into the role.”

That number – eight – might’ve been lower, and the thrashing Windham delivered more severe, had Perkins not opted to rest a number of his starters in the later going and instead exercise his second string, who gave up most of the points Lewiston managed to score, but who also earned their keep and capped the W.

So the evening was almost exclusively a display of Windham’s arrayed weaponry, their depth and their focus. Their opening drive showed some kinks – in particular, a couple successive holding penalties that sloppily negated what could’ve been substantial yardage gained – but they soon worked those out, and even finished the possession in the black when talented kicker Josh Dugas nailed a 34-yard field goal for 3-0.

The Eagles forced the Devils to punt on the follow-up series, and immediately went back to work. Webb returned the kick all the way across midfield. Koza then dashed up the right-middle for a quick 22, before QB Desmond Leslie pitched a perfect pass to Webb, who tacked on a beautiful juke, lengthening his gain to nine. A bevy of short Koza runs resulted in his crossing the Lewiston goal line for 9-0.

“They’re a great complement to each other,” Perkins said of his crop of runners. “Koza, and [Kyle] Houser, and Griffin [Jacobson], and Matt Roy.”

Dugas – as he ultimately did six times – split the uprights for the PAT. A kicker as powerful and accurate as Dugas is a rare commodity in Maine high school football; in general, teams attempt extra-point kicks infrequently, and of those attempts, few are successful. Two-point conversion tries, unusual for their low odds at the college and professional levels, are commonplace because they’re at least as likely to generate additional scoring as a shot at the goalposts. As for field goals, well, they’re scarce, to say the least, especially from farther out.

“Dugas does a great job,” Perkins said simply of his kicker.

The Devils held onto the ball for just over two minutes on their next drive, before needing to punt again. Webb fielded the kick – and immediately returned it 63 yards for another TD. Laberge then threw a successful two-point conversion pass to Matt Roy, setting the score already at 18-0 with 50.7 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Lewiston punted yet again on their next possession, but following a flubbed series, so did Windham. The Eagles weren’t, of course, flawless through 48 minutes – what team ever is? – they were simply impressive. Accordingly, they soon enough extended their lead to 25-0, on a 21-yard rush TD by Roy (plus Dugas’s extra point), but then relinquished six to the Devils, who capitalized on a real strength of their own, their passing game, to grab a rapid-fire batch of medium-long plays culminating in a TD.

Still, when Koza carried a four-yarder into the Lewiston end zone for 32-6 and Laberge completed to Leslie for 39-6, all before the half, it became clear the Blue Devils weren’t coming back. In the third and fourth quarters, Perkins rested a number of his starters, and still the Eagles continued to score, with Cam Hoffses and Travis Pesce both notching TDs. Yes, Windham allowed 16 further points with subs in play, but their victory was never less than imminent.

“They’ve been getting a lot of reps,” Perkins said of his second string. “It’s a good way to build depth. Long season, you never know when the injury bug’s going to hit you.”

The conquest moves Windham to 3-0 on the year; they’re currently ranked second in A East. But

it needs saying that their early-season schedule has provided them with little in the way of challenges. Their three victories have come against the division’s bottom three teams: first Deering, in eighth place; then Edward Little, in seventh; and now Lewiston, in sixth. The Eagles’ first true test comes this Saturday, Sept. 27, and is it ever a doozy: they face No. 1 Cheverus, also 3-0 – and on the Stags’ home turf, no less. Kickoff is set for just past high-noon, 12:30 to be precise, and the stands are sure to be packed.

“They’ve all done great things,” Perkins said of the opponents his team has thus far faced. “But all three phases of the game next week will be the real deal.”

To challenge Cheverus, who’ve been a top program for years now – they were the 2013 state runners-up to Bonny Eagle, and were, in fact, the favorites to win that game – Perkins will focus on the finer points. “There’s a lot of little things we’ve got to do,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure we’re sound, we’re not jumping off-sides. No stupid penalties, take care of the ball.”

Griffin Jacobson runs the ball for Windham in their 61-22 devouring of visitors Lewiston.Under strong Devils coverage by Ace Curry, Windham senior Zach Davis can’t quite pull in a TD pass.Eric Webb fields a kickoff and digs in for a charge upfield.Dylan Koza breaks away from the pack for a 22-yard Eagles gain.The Eagles line up for the kickoff following one of their eight touchdowns.Cam Hoffses cuts among defenders during one of his numerous third-quarter carries for Windham in their victory over Lewiston Friday night.The Eagles, including Alex Jordan, line up prior to the snap.Freshman Nazari Henderson saw a lot of playing time in the second half. Here, he shoves off a Devils defender during a 19-yard run that advanced the Eagles to the Lewiston three-yard line.

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