On paper, it looked like a great game. Both teams were 1-4. Both small school teams suited up 26 players. It was a gorgeous night. Booster Field in Vienna, which boasts its own website and lengthy history, looked in pre-drought condition.
Well, looks can be deceiving.
Start with the teams. The Mathews Mustangs did not have any heft to their players; they were all rangy and lean, like every one of them was going to play linebacker. The Windham Bombers, by and large, looked like exactly what they were: underclassmen who had not achieved their growth spurt yet (as always, Azeon Davis, who could blot out the sun if he was near you, is the exception).
And for all its initial impressiveness, Mathews should be ashamed of the way the game was presented. Their scoreboard only showed the score; the down, distance, and “ball on” portion of the board was dark.
The sound system exists only on the home side, and it sounded like the announcer was using an old Mr. Microphone as a speaker. The Mustang band, ensconced in a sound-enhancing bandshell, began moaning the instant the runner was down, so that the Bombers fans, who nearly outnumbered the Mathews contingent, wouldn’t know the name of the runner or tackler even if that sound could be heard across the field.
The chain crew appeared to be three junior high students who had been promised extra credit if they would dance around on the sideline with no notion of where to place the sticks. When the PA announcer literally has to tell them to move the chains, you know it was one of the most poorly run games in recent times. The Northeast Athletic Conference should admonish them to do a whole lot better.
But they did have Chick-Fil-A at the concession stand. They must think that makes them special. But the game is played between the sidelines, and both teams had to deal with the incompetence of the circumstances.
The Bombers took the opening kickoff, and once again Coach Jake Eye pulled a rabbit from his black and gold hat, leading with several direct snaps to diminutive DeJuan Ramsey, but the results varied widely. First snap, a run of 21 yards over right end. Second snap, a loss of 11. Third snap, a gain of 11. On fourth and two, Ramsey was stopped inches short, turning the ball over to the Mustangs.
Immediately, the air was shattered by the angry shouts of Coach Eye, directed at one of his players. That may have happened other times, but in the silence of the Bomber side, with no interference from the mute PA system, it had the effect of a startling and unexpected sonic boom.
Mathews began their first series with a gain of eight, a first down up the gut, and then a 45-yard end run that exposed wild flailing in the place of good tackling, ushering the Mustang runner into the end zone for the first score at 8:26.
On the ensuing kickoff, DeJuan Ramsey juggled the ball, a recurring problem throughout the contest, but recovered enough to sprint to the Windham 40. Then, as if time was running backward, the teams lined up AGAIN for a kickoff. Of course, not a single person on the Bomber side had any clue WHY, as the officials could not be bothered to use the conventional signals easily available in the back of any rule book.
In any event, the rekick again went to Ramsey, and in a nifty bit of razzle dazzle, a crossing Bryan Smithberger took the ball from him and circled to the home side of the field, motoring to the 43, meaning the whole rekick rigmarole meant a 3-yard gain for the Bombers.
Smithberger gained some passing confidence with two lobs to senior Ethan Thornton, who has emerged as the sparkplug of the Bombers offense. A screen pass, which has done poorly all year, lost five, a sack lost ten, a reverse to Ian Carmen lost a handful more, and, almost inevitably, a Bomber fumble then turned the ball over to the Mustangs, who lost no time in dancing 33 yards on the first run to up the score to 12-0 at 4:45 of the first quarter.
The kickoff to DeJuan Ramsey left the undersized scatback limping, but since he remains the heart of the Bomber running game, he gamely continued to lug the ball on almost every running play. Windham moved the ball to the Mathews 27, but an alarming number of sacks and stuffs negated most of the positive movement, and by the end of the quarter, Ramsey around end had become thoroughly predictable and stoppable.
Disdaining a passing attack, Mathews again moved up the field, and only the tackling heroics of Matt Kolaczek prevented breakaway runs. But the ground game was inexorable, and at 7:35 of the second quarter, the Mustangs hit paydirt again, moving the score to 20-0.
Another fumbled kickoff left the ball at the Bomber nine. An interception of a Smithberger pass on the first play netted another Mustang score only 18 seconds after the last one, and a 26-0 tally edged closer to the mercy rule running clock the Bombers have grown to hate. To this fan, this was the worst showing the team had delivered all year.
Then, just as thing were their lowest, DeJuan Ramsey, who had fumbled two kickoffs already, grabbed the next one in the air, faked a reverse to Smithberger, and was last seen 80 yards away in the Mathews end zone for one of the finest runbacks in recent memory. A two-point conversion made the score 26-8, staving off the running clock.
The Mustang drive was stymied by fine tackling from Azeon Davis and improving sophomore Devin Sherman, lately named to Tom Nader’s All-Trench team in the Portage Sports newsletter. The Bombers took the ball back with less than a minute in the half.
Smithberger, whose strong but sometimes inaccurate passing arm has yet to find its groove, demonstrated that, although young, he has the potential to helm the Bombers to better days. Backed to the Mathews 20, he launched a missile into the night that feathered into the soft hands of Ethan Thornton, who flew 80 yards for Windham’s second score.
Smithberger did not see this, having been flattened in an obvious but uncalled roughing. Between his wooziness and the beating DeJuan Ramsey had been taking, this did not bode well for the Bombers, who had pulled to 26-14.
That second quarter seemed to spark the team, which had reduced its penalty count to two, instead of the 13 logged in the first half against Cardinal.
Coach Eye opened the second half by stunning the Mustangs with an onside kick, so unexpected that the ball simply lay on the turf for several seconds before Mathews recognized that it was live. By that time, a black and gold uniform (again, Old Gold numbers are impossible to see on Windham uniforms) sat on top of it like a brooding hen on its eggs.
An aborted drive led to a Smithberger pooch punt to the Mathews four, and it became apparent that something had happened in the Bomber locker room during the intermission. For the first time all evening, a Mustang drive was turned back by Kolaczek and Smithberger tackling. The long snapper launched the ball over the punter’s head, and the Bombers pounced on the ball at the Mathews 38.
The quarter was nearly over, Windham had demonstrated their best defense of the season, and the game seemed to be pivoting.
Sadly, a Smithberger pass found his receiver with his head looking the wrong way, and the Mathews defensive back could have eaten a Chick-Fil-A in the time he had waiting for the ball to settle in his arms. A return to the Windham 38, two runs around end, and the Mustangs ended the quarter with a 32-14 score.
Cam Batterby covered the ensuing onside kick, but an energized Mathews defense caged Smithberger’s passing attempts. Windham continued its heartened defense, stopping the next drive.
Ethan Thornton brought the Bomber faithful to their feet with a 30-yard reception, but sadly, that was the brightest spot of the drive, as it was followed by a series of incompletions which highlighted the lack of experience at the quarterback slot.
One more Mathews tally upped the final score to 40-14. The Mustangs had one more chance to score, but declined to pile on, using the victory formation to run out the clock.
Windham is taking baby steps this year, but glaring problems remain. Twice, only 9 players were on the field, as two linemen had not reported for duty. Although Ethan Thornton has come into his own as a receiver, the passing game still leads to more interceptions than receptions. If battered DeJuan Ramsey is able to walk to class on Monday, he should be applauded. At times, the outside defenses look like the proverbial swinging gate, welcoming opposing runners instead of tackling them.
But I’m hoping that a good week of practice will prepare the boys for the trip to Lakeside High School to face Ashtabula St. John next Saturday.
The Heralds are having a rough year too, and the healthiest team usually wins in that kind of situation.
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