Grand Valley pushes past Windham 68-8

Photo by Ashleigh McCune

When Hamlet first encountered the ghost of his father atop Castle Elsinore, one of the ghost’s first utterances is “Horrible! Horrible! Most horrible!”

He might have just come from watching the Windham football game against Grand Valley on Friday night.

In my entire memory of Bomber football, a 68-8 shellacking is honestly the worst final score I have ever seen on the scoreboard at Ed Liddle Field.

Grand Valley has re-entered the Northeastern Athletic Conference as its largest school after finding the pickings in the Chagrin Valley Conference too tough for its taste. The Mustangs racked up a 1-9 record last year, but the diet of smaller schools will probably be more to its liking this season.

As always, the Bombers were primed for battle, and in fact had MORE players on the sideline than in their three previous losses. Alex Eye, the last of the battling Eye clan, has suited up for his father, and demonstrated a vicious tackling style last night that should inspire the rest of the team once he gets up to speed.

The game itself was, in a word, excruciating to watch. The weather was gorgeous, the Jake Eye-maintained field displayed little signs of the extended drought, but the matchup of the Mustangs and the Bombers was sadly predictable from the outset.

The Grand Valley linemen enjoyed a 25–50-pound weight advantage over every Bomber opposite them (aside from gargantuan Azeon Davis, who scales as much as two of the minuscule Windham running backs). There were at least a dozen and a half more Mustangs available for action than were on the Windham sideline.

But, as in the first three lopsided defeats (the Bombers have now been outscored 228-30), our boys were more than ready for whatever they were to face. Dressed in camo uniforms to honor Military Night, these undersized kids sprinting back onto the field to take the kickoff after every Grand Valley score tells a great deal about the heart and guts that the Windham coaching staff has instilled in them.

There is really no need to rehash every play. The reader’s imagination could not envision anything worse than what actually happened. When the first touchdown took 45 seconds, when the mercy rule (more than a 30 point lead) was in the rearview mirror with 4:55 left in the FIRST period, and a running clock began halfway through the second stanza, the best thing the spectators could do was avert their eyes from the field and look at the antics of dozens of mini-cheerleaders that the Lil Bombers organization brought to cheer with the varsity girls.

Fumbles, interceptions, missed tackles, listless perimeter defense, everything imaginable went wrong, but not a single Bomber faked an injury or begged off.

If one were sitting on the Grand Valley sideline, every touchdown was a Sports Center highlight, but one wonders if the cheering was so enthusiastic when the coaches were still blitzing all their linebackers when the score was 48-0.

So, this fan simply has to offer a list of the things that were hopeful about this debacle, some of which were not on the field:

-At halftime, the Grand Valley and Bombers players stood side by side to escort military veterans from the various service corps to be honored at the 50-yard line. It was a deeply touching sight.

-The Band Bistro, which makes absolutely the best hamburgers and sausage sandwiches at any stadium in Ohio, sold out nearly everything because of the size of the crowd.

-DeJuan Ramsey, the tiny scatback who carries over 50% of the running assignments, was like the Energizer Bunny, getting knocked downplay after play and jumping up for more. His zigging, zagging, and dancing on every handoff are a true delight to watch.

-Ian Carmen made significant contributions on special teams, Ethan Thornton and Michael Bolyard continue to be unheralded forces, Matt Kolaczek stands out with his tireless play on both sides of the ball, Cam Witherspoon shows a dynamic talent with the ball in his hands, and Jaiden Arnone demonstrated perfect tackling technique several times.

-DeJuan Ramsey chalked up six points with his 29-yard scamper late in the game, earning the REMAX Player of the Game for the Bombers.

-Bryan Smithberger, who had a frustrating evening in the aerial game, nailed Gavin Kiser in the end zone for the double extra points after Ramsey’s score.

-Alex Eye. More of Alex Eye.

So, the season from hell drags on, but if you think the kids are capitulating, you don’t know Windham football. Next week they play Middlefield Cardinal, which, like Grand Valley, has left the Chagrin Valley Conference for the NAC.

Next Friday is the 85th anniversary of Windham’s six-man football international championship over Canada; that team, which was the first one to carry the name Bombers, is pictured on a giant sign at the stadium.

And two more things:

The Cardinal Huskies sport an 0-3 record and have been outscored 147-8.

It’s Windham’s Homecoming.

I can’t think of any better reasons to be at the game. See you there.