Windham football dominates in win over Souhegan

AMHERST – Going into Friday night’s game, the Windham High School football team was undefeated and a favorite to win the Division II championship this season.

When the rain ripped through Amherst, so too did the Jaguars’ running game. Neither the elements nor the Souhegan Sabers could stop them, as Windham rolled to a 41-7 win in South Conference action.

Windham (4-0) opened the game in grand style. After failing to recover an onside kick on the opening kickoff, the Jaguars forced Souhegan into a three-and-out, then on their first play from scrimmage, Parker Belsky ran the ball 70 yards for a touchdown. That set the tone for the rest of the game.

Souhegan (1-3) had opportunities to move the ball with Dante Savo, David Labonte and Howie Dessurealt making plays.

But the rain was not conducive to throwing the football. Palmer Belowski started the game, attempting seven passes and completing only one of them for zero yards gained. With so little variety on offense, the Jaguars keyed in on the Sabers’ runners and their defense controlled the entire game.

When Windham got the ball back, it consistently ran the football effectively and never allowed the Sabers to get back in the game. After a competitive first quarter, Windham got a 47-yard touchdown run from Jake Aleksa, and later, got one more touchdown when Cody Potter threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Micah Sundman to make the score 21-0 at the half.

Souhegan turned the tables on Windham with a successful onside kick to open the second half. Unfortunately, the deteriorating conditions made things sloppy for both sides.

Both sides struggled to get their offenses going for much of the third quarter. Souhegan fumbled twice and Windham fumbled once. Eventually, Windham recovered and got a 30-yard touchdown run from Potter.

Windham had two more touchdown runs in the fourth quarter. One was a 27-yard run by Victor Pizzotti, and the final one was a 90-yard run by Tim Anderson to put Windham up 41-0.

Souhegan’s Anderson Geffrard replaced Belowski in the fourth quarter and led his team down the field, throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to David Labonte to get on the board.

The Sabers avoided the shutout and showed some promise, but the night belonged to the Jaguars running game, as they piled up 455 rushing yards as a team. Six different players scored touchdowns and Windham demonstrated why it can return to the title game for the third straight season.