Everyone knew this season could never duplicate the heroics of the previous season. Let’s face it: the 2024 team could make a case for being the best team in Bomber history. Coach Jake Eye knew from the get-go that he was going to be a shepherd, hoping to bring his flock home without losing any bodies along the way. By and large, he did that.
When some future Bomber historian, my replacement, looks at the 2025 season, if he or she spends more than ten seconds glancing at the record, I’d be amazed. But in the here and now, there is so much to be gained by one final retrospective on a less than stellar team that nevertheless made this old Bomber proud to watch them week after week.
Coach Jake Eye demonstrated how adaptable he is. On any given week, the fans never knew what wrinkle he would come up with. One week he threw the ball almost every play. The next week he might have 320-pound Azeon Davis lugging the pigskin. There were a lot of punts, but Jake knew enough to vary where the punt would be coming from. And always, Jake’s boys put on a thrilling show of respect for the country, their fans, their school, and their teammates in their pregame routine, and it was done on a natural grass field that was always prepped beautifully, often with a theme for that specific game. Coaches do not come any more dedicated than Jake Eye.
My MVP for the season would be DeJuan Ramsey. This mighty mite is a true marvel of unstoppability. He won’t show up in the all-time record book for total yards yet, but his courage, play after play, at being thrown once more into the breach is amazing. He may have needed trainer Lisa Murton’s ministrations two or three times a game, but the kid would be right back in the backfield two or three plays later. The word “workhorse” truly applies to this junior. A few more pounds and muscles, and he could have a year next season that will be memorable.
Sophomore quarterback Bryan Smithberger took over a team after playing mop-up duty the year before and ran Coach Eye’s offense like a seasoned veteran. He has a big arm, and with this year under his belt, the Bombers are set for two more years under his leadership. He plays older than his age. Here’s hoping his season-ending injury is just a glitch in his development. His mom Samantha is his biggest fan, and I thank her for keeping me updated on his condition.
Matt Kolaczek, the old man of the team, was a solid anchor for the younger kids swirling around him. His specialty was big plays when one was needed, but his foundation was steady defense, being in the right place, and, for this fan, being instantly findable when he wore his orange shoes. Matt has been the quiet heart of the team for several seasons, and he will be missed.
Alex Eye joined the team at mid-season, and by the end of the year, he was showing that genes don’t lie. His grandfather’s guts and grit are inborn, and he is going to be a delight to watch for seasons to come.
Gavin Kiser returned to the team after a few seasons away. He hadn’t grown in stature, but wherever Coach Eye plugged him in, he executed fearlessly. His game against Richmond Heights, as Smithberger’s replacement at quarterback, was one of the finest profiles in courage I have ever witnessed.
Ethan Thornton was one of the reasons this team, with all its adversity, was fun to watch. Two or three times a game, he made a catch, or ran back a kickoff, or made a tackle that made me think, this kid really knows how to rise to the occasion. And you never knew when it was coming, which made it all the more smile-inducing. His touchdown on the onside kick in the Richmond Heights game might have been the single best moment out of the ten games.
Four players, Ian Carmen, Mike Bolyard, Cam Batterby, and Cam Witherspoon were the quiet warriors on the team. They did not hear their names called over the PA often, but they were out there play after play, doing what was asked of them without any concern for glory. Those are the kind of kids who make a team a cohesive unit.
Azeon Davis is a true work of art. I wish we could keep him another four years, because watching his transition from the large guy in the line to the biggest running back in Bomber history was just amazing. Thank you, Azeon – you did that for all the grunts before you, including me, who labored in the shadows. He’s bigger than Rudy of Notre Dame fame, but he got to live the dream!
Loudon Collins was so impressive this year. He might have been the best kicker we’ve seen in quite a while – at least since Jack Eye last year – and he alternated between running back and lineman, showing a toughness that can’t be coached, but has to be internal.
The hogs of the line, Devin Sherman, Cam Peet, Jacob Dallner, Malikye Petrich, along with Azeon, deserve the thanks of every Bomber fan. They never hear their names on the PA, they often have a face full of dirt at the end of a play, but football does not exist without that silent, unacknowledged spirit that is willing to get slammed play in and play out for the sake of their more heralded compatriots in the backfield.
Jaiden Arnone really came on at the end of the season for his tackling, which made his fan section in the bleachers delirious. Good. Every kids deserves rooters like that.
My biggest smile of the year came when Blake Cottle, who is listed generously at 5’9” and 155 pounds, played nose tackle in a late season game. Watching him submarine a center who outweighed him by 100 pounds was priceless.
And the kids I haven’t mentioned, who waited every game for the coach to call their name, almost every one of them underclassmen, you are now the veterans, the old men, whom the junior high team, coming off a wonderful season, will be looking up to. Those 8th graders are bringing the promise of a better season next year.
I owe a few more thanks. Helena Belden, who taught in Windham for 30 years, was my spotter all season, and all she got from it was a pregame Renee Turk cheeseburger and a pretzel at halftime. Her grin when a former student came up to hug her was photographable. Saturday morning, her first words, after a cup of coffee, are “did you post your story yet?” Every writer deserves a fan like that.
My old teammate from the 1966 PCL champions, Bud Myers, always thanked me for my scribblings. Jeff Kolaczek and Paula Daniels also often took the time to comment, which I appreciated.
To anyone else who took the time to read my observations, and Natalie Turk, who reposts them on NEOSportsInsiders.com , you are my reward.
It’s only ten months till next season. I can hardly wait. Every day is a good day to be a Bomber.
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