Wolverines Look Strong in Final Stretch

Windham youth football hit the road last Sunday and traveled to Keene and Hudson. The Wolverines ran on all cylinders and ended up with a 4-1 weekend record. The teams have two regular season contests remaining and continue to improve all facets of their game.      

RESULTS  

Second and Third Grade Combined vs. Hudson-Litchfield Bears  

The Wolverines 2/3 combined team won another close game in Hudson last Sunday bringing their record to 4-2. Chilly temperatures didn’t stop either team from creating an action-packed first half. Early in the game, the strong blocking of Evan Logue and Charlie Palmer led to two Adam Koza touchdowns. Koza put up an unbelievable third touchdown thanks to a steamroller block from Cole Peterson. One Wolverines' coach said, “That is the best block I have seen all season." Peterson went on to run in the extra point for Windham. Despite impressive defensive play from Ryan Garcia, Nicholas LaRoche, and Brett Boucher, Hudson managed to score two touchdowns in the first half of the game.

Hudson made a third trip to the end-zone early in the second half. The Bears then put together a long drive but were unable to capitalize on a fumble recovery. Koza, Christian Spinazola, Anthony Gaiero, Lukasz Rondeau and Andrew Noel played outstanding defense and stopped their opponents . Mason Rice and Nathan Campbell finished the quarter with textbook tackling. The final quarter started with an incredible jaw-dropping fourth touchdown by Koza. Cole Peterson made good on the extra point. Hudson’s offense was shut down in the fourth quarter by Arinello, Nick Panzini and Keegan Parke. The Windham fans cheered when their team took a victorious knee and let the clock run out. Kudos to the Mighty Mite cheerleaders for showing up in the cold and doing a great job as always!

Fourth Grade vs. Hudson-Litchfield Bears  

The Windham Wolverines traveled to Hudson to take on the Bears in the sixth game of the season.  Hudson won the toss and opted to receive the kick-off. Windham tried an onside kick and it worked. The Wolverines' offense finished an impressive 63-yard drive with a Jacob George touchdown run and a Westin Lippold conversion.  The Wolverines' defense then stepped up and forced a fumble on the Bears' first drive and Windham took advantage. Rocky Heres carried the ball 27 yards for the TD and Tommy McNeal ran in the extra point. Windham led 14-0.  In the second quarter, Hudson moved the ball inside Windham's 10 yard line and set up a first and goal.  The Wolverines defense came up huge and kept Hudson off the scoreboard. The Wolverines took a 14-0 lead into halftime. During halftime, the fans were entertained by the Division 8 Cheer squad: Bradie Coles, Brenna Coles, Brooke Turner, Delina DaSilva, Emilie-Paige Webman, Evelyn Hamel, Jessica Kurgan, Kasey Fitzgerald, Kayla Stevens, Kristen Diener, Maggie Hammill, Maria Killian, Olivia Andrews, Olivia Fee, Paisley Olenik, and Sara Ostrowski.

The Wolverines began the second half when speedster, Curtis Shattuck, turned the corner down the left sideline for another Wolverines' score. Jack Hammill made the extra point with 7 minutes left in the third quarter. The offense got the ball back again and this time Aiden Carter broke free and landed in the end-zone giving Windham a commanding 27-0 lead. The defense continued to hold Hudson scoreless and gave the offense the ball back  allowing a great run by Vito Ortiz to close out the third quarter.  The fourth quarter began and the coaches continued to get everyone involved in the offensive explosion. Braydan DeCotis shed two tackles and bolted toward the right pylon for the score. Windham continued to run the ball effectively with a spectacular carry by Connor Logue to seal the 33-0 victory.

Fifth Grade vs. the Keene Knights

The fifth grade Wolverines traveled to Keene on Sunday to battle the Knights. Windham left there with a 26-12 win.  Jake Dunlap returned the opening kick-off 65 yards down the right sideline for an exciting Windham touchdown. Late in the second quarter, Tommy Doe took a hand-off and weaved his way through the Knights' defense 35 yards into the end-zone. The Wolverines defense held strong and didn't allow Keene to score in the half. Windham led 14-0 at the break. Luke Schramm added to the Wolverines' offense when he blasted through the Knight's D-line and ran the ball in from the 14 yard-line.  Zach Kurgan and Matty Logue threw key blocks on the TD run.  The Knights scored their first touchdown of day with 21 seconds left in the third quarter. Dunlap made another visit to the end zone to put the Wolverines up by a score of 27-6. Keene put one more TD on the board in the final quarter. Logue finished his outstanding effort with two sacks to end the game. Royce Belsky, Riley Desmarais and Tristan Adams also played exceptional defense. Final Score: Windham 27, Keene 12.  

Sixth Grade vs. Hudson-Litchfield Bears  

The sixth grade Wolverines played an exciting game against the Husdon Bears last Sunday. Windham made several gutsy plays on defense to begin the game. Gannon Fast and Jonny "Mac" MacLean dominated the outside and made several hard nose tackles in the first quarter. Daniel Smith, Ray Galasso and Nick Gaiero stepped up their defensive play and wracked up a combined thirteen tackles. The Hunter Delaney and Thomas Hebert duo exploded through the gaps and also managed several stops. Hudson, however, made two trips to the end-zone in the first half to take a 15-0 lead.   The Windham defense came out fired up in the second half. Rourke Curtin, JP Pallaria and Alex Webman locked down the Wolverines' D. On special teams, Ryan Marotta had two terrific kick returns to give Windham great field position. Later in the half, the Wolverines' fans erupted when Marotta exploded past the rock solid blocks of teammates Cody Potter and Jeff Andon for a 70-yard touchdown run. Marotta had the crowd on their feet again with a second carry late in the game when he ran 40 yards down the left side line to the Hudson two yard line. Noah Lynch, Sean Carter and Justin Boucher made terrific down-field blocks during the run. The Wolverines displayed terrific teamwork and toughness throughout the game. Final score Hudson 28, Windham 7.    

Seventh Grade JV vs. Hudson-Litchfield Bears   

The first half of the seventh grade Wolverines' game against the Hudson Bears was action-packed! Joe Dunlap sprinted to the Bears' 40 yard-line and QB Jake Byers threw a 37-yard touchdown strike to Max Faro all within the first two minutes of the game. The Bears came back and answered with a quick TD of their own. The Windham offense, however, had an answer. Brian Murdza and Dunlap alternated runs to put the ball on the Hudson 20 yard-line. Donovan Hopkins tore off two 6-yard carries and set up a Max Faro punishing blast into the end-zone for his second score of the game. Hopkins made a nice catch for the two-point conversion. Windham led 16-6. On defense, Collin Peterson and Thomas Splagounias teamed up for a couple of key tackles late in the first quarter to stop the Hudson Bears in their tracks. Brian Murdza, Jack Swarbrick and Nick Sawyer also showed off their defensive skills by forcing a fourth down and short. Windham's James Williams, Jonathan Saklad and Tommy Costa stuffed the Hudson running back at the line of scrimmage and the Wolverines took over on downs. Late in the first quarter, Murdza took a hand-off and exploded down the field. He weaved his way through the Bears defense shaking off tacklers on his way over the goal line. Nolan Cunningham made a great catch in the end-zone for the extra points. Windham's offensive dominance continued into the second quarter. Murdza used his lightning speed once again to turn the corner and broke away for yet another Wolverines' TD. The Bears next possession hit a brick wall with great defense by Nico Nardone, Joe “Cheech” Micciche, Sawyer, Splagounias and Williams. The Wolverines gained possession when Max Sweetser pounced on a forced fumble. Windham took a 37-6 lead into half-time.

The Wolverines picked up where they left off in the second half. After the two teams changed possessions on downs, QB Byers hooked up with Faro who made a phenomenal catch in the end-zone. Swarbrick, Williams and Sweetser continued to dominate on defense for the rest of the game and shut down the Bears' offense. Final score: Windham 43, Hudson 6.  

For more information on the Windham Wolverines Youth Football and Cheer program, visit our Facebook page or go to windhamwolverines.org. Jon MacLean, Terri Kurgan, Kelley Stewart, Lou Zollo and Karin Gelinas contributed to this article.