The Windham Bombers’ football team’s historic season reached the final chapter in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division VII Region 25 quarterfinals last Friday evening when they were outmatched against Hillsdale, losing 43-13 at the Hillsdale Falcons Community Stadium in Jeromesville.
“They were extremely athletic,” said Coach Jake Eye. “We knew that going in. They were by far the best team that we played all year. .I see that team as a potential state finalist team and they have weapons all over the field. It was a bad combination for us and one of our weaknesses is our secondary and they exploited that on Friday night.”It marked the end to one of the best seasons in Windham’s (10-2, 6-1) school history as the Bombers became the first team to record a 10-win season. The Bombers fell into an early hole in the first quarter and could not recover.
The Falcons rode a quick start in the first period to seize control and never relinquished their grasp. According to the five-year coach, his squad struggled against Hillsdale’s vaunted quick-strike offense. Hillsdale struck early and often with its dynamic passing game, beginning with sophomore quarterback/defensive back Kael Lewis delivering a 98-yard touchdown strike to junior wide receiver Hayden McFadden, pushing the Falcons ahead 7-0.
The 6-foot-2 Lewis continued attacking the Bombers’ secondary, recording two more touchdown passes in the first period, including a 35-yard score to the 6-foot-1 McFadden and a 16-yard touchdown strike to senior wide receiver Holland Young. A rushing touchdown helped the Falcons push their lead to 29-0.
Eye acknowledged that Hillsdale had too many weapons all over the field.
“We are not a man-to-man type team where we can just man up and go man-for-man so we were unable to load up the box because obviously they were a throwing team and had a great quarterback,” he added. “I thought we did a pretty good job against the run but were unable to keep up with their athletes out in space.”
Usually a fast-scoring team themselves, the Bombers were plagued with turnovers throughout the game as the Falcons’ defense recorded four interceptions and a fumble recovery.
After adding another touchdown in the second quarter and continuing to shut Windham out, the Falcons triggered the running clock in the second half.
According to Eye, Hillsdale’s defense took away the outside running lanes for the Bombers’ stalwart tailback duo of senior running back/linebacker Jack Eye and tailback/strong safety Carlos Bruton, which forced Windham out of its comfort zone.
Although the game was out of hand in the second half, Eye said his team never backed down from Hillsdale.
“My message to them was that if you are ever in a bar fight or in a street fight are you just going to let them kick you to death or find a way to keep fighting until your last breath and that is what we did on Friday night,” he said.
While Windham’s season is over, Eye emphasized the accomplishments that this year’s team made, not only setting a new school record for most wins in a season but also earning their first home playoff game for the first time since the 2018 season.
As far as Eye was concerned, the 2024 season was the season that Windham’s senior class deserved after enduring an injury-plagued 2023 campaign.
“We felt that we were very capable of having a similar type of season last year but when you are down seven starters from the start in game one, those are the adverse times I am talking about,” he said. “For us to avoid that injury bug and show people what we can do and the type of team we can be, it means a lot to the program, and it means a lot to me and it means a lot to the community and most of all it means a lot to the kids because they left it all on the field.”
Although the senior class has played their last snaps on the gridiron, Eye said that they leave behind a new standard of success for future classes to strive for and hopefully top in the following seasons.
“When kids see you winning and see the things that you are doing, they buy in,” Eye noted. “I think our numbers are in a stable position right now especially for the next couple of years and I am really excited about our young kids coming.”
