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NORTH BERWICK— Sure, it would be nice to claim you’re season-opening performance was crisp, clean and efficient. But as new Noble High quarterback Mark Lapointe correctly pointed out after Thursday night’s 10-6 Class A win against Windham, style points are not awarded in football.

“A win’s a win. It wasn’t the prettiest, but we got it done,” said Lapointe, a 6-foot-5 junior making his varsity start. “It’s a ‘W’ in the book and I’m real happy with this team.”

How it happened

Neither team scored through three quarters, with both having opportunities negated by their own mistakes. Windham had an apparent 25-yard, tackle-breaking touchdown run by explosive junior Parker Sperry negated by a holding penalty on its first drive of the second half. Noble was on the doorstep on the next possession when receiver Jackson Mulligan fumbled at the 5 on the end of a catch-and-run play.

Noble put took a 3-0 lead with 8:36 to play on a 23-yard field goal by Tyler Gray to complete a 61-yard drive that featured three completions by Lapointe and some hard running by Logan Duquette and then Carter Ouellette.

The lead was short-lived. Windham sophomore quarterback Patrick Davenport — also making his first varsity start — found a wide-open Landon Wyman in the deep middle of the field for a 70-yard touchdown. Windham’s point-after was wide right.

The pivotal play came on the ensuing kickoff. Senior receiver Aidan Keefe, who had already made several nice runs after short passes, picked up a rolling kick at his 18, got to the outside, then made multiple Windham players miss and returned the kick 58 yards to the Windham 24.

“I saw my teammates really needed someone to give them some inspiration to get this job done, and that just hit me as soon as I picked up that ball,” Keefe said. “I knew I needed to get as far as I could.”

Two Duquette runs moved the ball to the 12, and a 9-yard pass to Keefe set up Lapointe for a burrowing 3-yard sneak with 4:24 to play.

Noble stopped Windham’s next two drives, with an interception by Joey Descart off a pass breakup tip by Mulligan and then a fourth-down stop with 20 seconds to play.

What the win showed

Noble returned only two starters on each side of the ball. The Knights were 8-3 last year, losing in the Class A South final to Thornton Academy, behind Fitzpatrick Trophy winner Jamier Rose.

“A lot of thought that Noble would fall off, we didn’t have our star player, but we had to show them we’re still here,” Keefe said.

Windham, coming off a 3-7 season in Class A North, has more starters back (five on offense, seven on defense) but also has plenty of players in new positions. Both teams struggled with penalties (11 for Noble; eight for Windham) that either negated good plays or put them behind in down-and-distance. But they both competed with ferocity.

“Great effort. Great kids who get after it,” said Windham coach Matt Perkins. “They’re resilient. They’ll bounce right back and get right back at it.”

Statistical leaders

Windham: Parker Sperry, 22 carries, 119 yards; Patrick Davenport, 6 of 15 passing, 126 yards, one touchdown, one interception; Landon Wyman, one catch, 70 yards, one touchdown.

Noble: Aidan Keefe, seven catches, 89 yards, 60-yard kickoff return; Mark Lapointe, 11 of 16, 143 passing yards, one interception, one rushing touchdown; Logan Duquette, 16 carries, 68 yards.

They said it

• “We graduated a big senior class last year and a lot of people doubted us from the gate, and I just think we really put our team on the map for the state to look out. And we’re ready. We’re coming. We’re here.” — Mark Lapointe, Noble junior quarterback

• “I think that was a Week 1 game with a lot of growing pains, replacing a lot of starters from a year ago, but I think the grit this team had to pull this one out shows a lot about who we’ll be moving forward.” — Noble coach Keenon Blindow.

• “We’re seeing drastic improvements. We just have to keep not worrying about mistakes and fix them and move on.” — Windham coach Matt Perkins.