Windham football survives to beat St. Thomas in D2 title game

DURHAM – It had been quite a ride this season for the Windham High School football team, and it culminated Saturday with a turn on the roller coaster in the Division II championship game.

The Jaguars dominated St. Thomas for a little more than a quarter, going up 21-0 just five seconds in to the second frame, but then saw the Saints bounce back and take a 28-21 lead late in the third.

But a defensive stand by St. Thomas led to a momentum-changing safety for Windham and it owned the fourth quarter, as Brendan McInnis threw for two of his five touchdowns to lead the top-seeded Jaguars to a 38-28 victory to capture the program’s first title at the University of New Hampshire’s Cowell Stadium.

McInnis finished the game 8 of 14 passing for 151 yards and five touchdowns for Windham (11-0), providing the kind of performance that coach Bill Raycraft expected from him.

“I told him earlier in the week, we’re winning a championship on him,” Raycraft said. “Whether it was his legs or his arm, he was going to get it done for us. He was in my office and he said I want the ball in the championship game.”

The senior quarterback handed it off a few times as well, getting 101 yards rushing from Kurtis Jolicoeur and 75 yards on the ground from Kellin Bail, who finished with 194 all-purpose yards. McInnis also connected with Joey Frake four times for 65 yards and three touchdowns while Anthony Gallo had two receptions – both for touchdowns – and 71 yards receiving.

Stephen Hedberg overcame a rough start to lead No. 3 St. Thomas (9-2), as he went 17 of 24 for 154 yards and four touchdowns, but was also picked off three times. Hedberg’s four scoring tosses gave him 35 on the season, setting a single-season state record. Liam Middleton caught five passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns while Charlie Polluck and Nate Grunbeck also had a touchdown reception each.

“I think they’re just a great team and they just made some plays that we thought they were going to make earlier, they just hadn’t made them,” McInnis said. “We did a good job bracing the storm and we were ready for it.”

Windham needed just four plays to take the lead in the first quarter. After its defense forced a three-and-out, Jolicoeur ran three times for a total of 28 yards, giving the Jaguars the ball at the Saints’ 42 when McInnis hit Gallo with a short pass and Gallo raced the rest of the way to the end zone.

After the teams traded punts, St. Thomas started to drive, moving the ball down to the Windham 33-yard line. But on second down, Hedberg was picked off by Gallo, who returned it to the Saints’ 26. Three plays later, McInnis hit Frake for a 10-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 1:15 left in the quarter.

St. Thomas fumbled the ensuing kick and Nick Micciche recovered to give the Jaguars the ball at the Saints’ 39. St. Thomas forced a third-and-9 as the quarter came to a close, but on the first play of the second, McInnins found Frake for a 38-yard touchdown reception to make it 21-0.

But just when it seemed things were getting out of hand, St. Thomas responded with a 10-play, 67-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Hedberg to Middleton to make it 21-7.

On Windham’s first play after the kickoff, Jolicoeur fumbled and St. Thomas recovered at the Windham 35. Six plays later, Hedberg hit Grunbeck over the middle and the junior fought his way into the end zone to make it a 21-14 game with 5:14 left in the half and that’s where it stood at the break.

“We talked at halftime, the only thing that we felt stopped us was ourselves, whether there was a penalty or a missed block or a turnover,” Raycraft said. “Once we stopped that, we felt we could play with them.”

But the Jaguars didn’t stop it. They were forced to punt on the first possession of the second half and the snap went over Gallo’s head, giving St. Thomas a first down at Windham’s 39. The Saints converted two third downs, one with the help of a defensive pass interference call, and Hedberg connected with Polluck for a 10-yard touchdown to tie the game at 21.

Windham was forced to punt again, giving St. Thomas the ball on its own 42, and on the next play, Hedberg’s pass over the middle was tipped and landed right in the arms of Middleton, who raced the rest of the way to the end zone untouched to put the Saints up 28-21 with 4:55 left in the quarter.

“It was a bit of blow, but they don’t get rattled,” Raycraft said of whether he was worried. “They’re an amazing group of kids and they’re confident.”

The St. Thomas defense forced Windham into a third-and-8 on its next possession, but Bail ripped off a 57-yard run, giving the Jaguars a first-and-goal at the Saints’ 5. Grunbeck saved the touchdown by racing back to shove Bail out of bounds, and it prove to be key, as the Saints’ defense stepped up and stopped three straight runs.

On fourth-and-goal from the 1, McInnis rolled to his right and fired a pass to Frake, but his feet got tangled with St. Thomas’ Trevor Martin, sending both to the turf, and the pass fell incomplete.

“I lost my cool a little bit,” McInnis said. “I left my character and that’s something I don’t usually do. I thought it was a penalty, but that’s not my job. My job is to play.

“(Raycraft) liked what he saw there, thought we had a matchup. I trust coach Raycraft with all my heart, so I wasn’t going to check out of it. I think he (made the right call), we just didn’t execute the way we wanted to. It didn’t go our way, but we did a good job coming back from it.”

With the ball inside their 1-yard line, the Saints were called for a false start, and on the next play, Hedberg fumbled the snap. Matt Elliott fell on it for St. Thomas in the end zone for a Windham safety to cut the lead to 28-23 with 1:20 to go in the third quarter.

“I turned to Brendan and said that’s going to be the difference in a championship game,” Raycraft said. “We knew St. Thomas is a great team, they’re a well-coached team and they were prepared for us. They came in with a game plan that certainly could have taken it.

“It speaks volumes for the character of the kids that they can fight through adversity and still come out on top. The message in the locker room was clear, if you’re ready to walk out of this room as a champion, let’s do it now. You could tell by the look in their eyes, they weren’t going to be denied.”

Windham retook the lead on a 29-yard touchdown pass from McInnis to Gallo, on a ball that was placed over the defender and right into the receiver’s hands. McInnis ran in the two-point conversion to make it a three-point game, 31-28, with 10:31 to play. After a three-and-out by St. Thomas, Windham went 56 yards in six plays, with Frake catching a 12-yard touchdown pass from McInnis to make to 38-28 with 6:02 to go.

“We got off to a good start, so we were pretty happy about that,” Raycraft said. “To give up the lead was a little blow to us, but we drilled it all week, that they’re a good team and they’re going to score. It was great to see that actually come true on the field because they put the effort in and I’m thankful for the effort that the coaches put in the way they did. We came out and executed.”