Dylan Koza scored three touchdowns Friday night as Windham opened the Eastern Class A high school football season in impressive style with a 53-12 victory against Deering at Memorial Field.
Windham gave up a touchdown on Deering’s first series, then had to settle for a field goal after getting inside the 10 on its first possession.
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But after that, all Windham. No doubt.
Griffin Jacobson and Kyle Houser also had touchdowns for the Eagles.
Setting up those touchdowns was an alert secondary that intercepted four passes, two by Tanner Laberge, who on offense contributed to a punishing running game.
Desmond Leslie threw one touchdown pass for Windham, which finished with more than 300 yards of offense.
“The kids were a little nervous at the start,” said Windham Coach Matt Perkins. “Once we settled down, we had a good mix between the run and the pass.”
Koza, who scored on runs of 37, 3 and 43 yards, finished with 148 yards.
“It was the blocking,” said Koza, who rushed for 500 yards last season. “The line was making blocks downfield.”
The Eagles returned most of their team from a playoff club a year ago, and it showed.
“I told my team all week that Windham was a good team,” said Deering Coach Matt Riddell.
But at the start …
Deering took the opening kickoff and scored in nine plays, including five passes.
The Rams’ passing acumen, with quarterback Max Chabot and some talented receivers, put Windham on its heels. Perkins said the Eagles were troubled by missed assignments.
“We weren’t dropping in our zones,” he said. “We cleaned up a few things.”
After Deering scored, the Eagles moved down the field. Laberge went 19 yards on first down, followed by a 22-yard run by Koza. But the drive stalled and Josh Dugas kicked a 17-yard field goal.
Laberge then got the first of his two interceptions, which led to a Leslie to Zach Davis 9-yard touchdown pass for Windham.
Early in the second quarter, Eric Webb intercepted for the Eagles, then caught a pass from Leslie for 34 yards. Koza followed with his first touchdown run of 37 yards to make it 18-6.
Deering was hurt by first-half injuries to speedy running backs Sambath Sao and Camille Kirongozi.
Kirongozi scored the first touchdown on a 2-yard run for Deering.
“We made a lot of mental errors. We fumbled the ball three times,” said Riddell.
After taking the lead, the points came rapidly for the Eagles, who led 32-6 at halftime.
“I’m very pleased with our progression since preseason,” said Perkins.
Koza feels the Eagles can go deep in the playoffs.
“I would say confidence is the biggest thing we’ve gained since last season,” said Koza.
Late in the game, Windham reserve running back Cam Hoffses went 80 yards down the sideline before being hauled down at the Deering 3.
He later scored, illustrating the depth that the Eagles will enjoy at running back.
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