By Hector Longo hlongo@eagletribune.com
The Eagle-Tribune
---- — WINDHAM — On a different Sunday, Bill Raycraft’s fourth-quarter choice to “quick-kick” on third-and-9 would have coffee shops and breakfast counters buzzing all over town this morning.
Of course, the 51-point lead at the time and Guilliaume Gauthier’s 54-yard rugby-style boot silenced even the most ardent critic.
Yep, just about everything worked perfectly on Windham’s Senior Day as the Jags easily clinched a Division 5 playoff berth with a 51-0 victory over Kennett.
Every senior dressed got to play in their final regular season home game, a testament to how far this program has travelled in four short years.
“They all played great, too,” said QB Joe Lorenz, who hit 3 of 5 passes for 109 yards in the light day’s work.
As Windham assistant coach Jack Byrne noted to his underclassmen, “These seniors you see here today were smaller than you guys were, and they took a beating.”
But the Jags’ loaded senior class accepted the challenge to establish something special.
Even the most casual football fan noted the photo on this newspaper’s sports front page a week ago with co-captain Kevin Cooney, sporting some major guns (biceps) as he busted through the line for a big gain.
Those don’t develop overnight.
“Our first varsity year as sophomores, we really took our lumps, going 1-8,” said Lorenz. “But we all worked hard at it. There were a couple rough ones that year. We just kept working at it. We all play together, knowing our own roles.”
Yesterday, Cooney (5 carries, 66 yards) set the tone with TD runs of 1 and 55 yards, but that was merely the trigger of the avalanche.
Lorenz hit Danny Cannone (16-yarder) and Artem Aristov (53) with TD passes, and Jeremy Cocciardi rumbled in from 4 yards out.
Cannone then finished the 44-point first half barrage by blocking a punt and falling on it for the TD.
Most likely, the regular season finale in two weeks at Trinity will decide the No. 2 seed in the D4 playoffs.
Windham 51, Kennett 0
Kennett (3-4): 0 0 0 0 — 0
Windham (6-1): 23 21 7 0 — 51
First Quarter
Kevin Cooney 1 run (Joe Lorenz rush) 4:25
Cooney 55 run (Anthony Gallo kick) 3:08
Danny Cannone 16 pass from Lorenz (Joe Frake to Cannone pass) :15.3
Second Quarter
Artem Aristov 53 pass from Lorenz (Gallo kick) 8:18
Jeremy Cocciardi 4 run (Gallo kick) 4:48
Cannone blocked punt and recovery in end zone (Gallo kick)3:23
Third Quarter
Davis Potter 9 run (Curtis Jolicoeur kick) 7:59
Fourth Quarter
None
WINDHAM INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Kevin Cooney 5-66, Danny Cannone 5-29, Thomas Anderson 6-86, Joe Lorenz 1-0, Jeremy Cocciardi 5-16, Guillaume Gauthier 2-16, Davis Potter 5-30, Ben Petron 3-24, Brandon McInnis 2-(-1), Curtic Jolicoeur 2-9, Troy Peters 2-6, Brandon Neal 2-6
PASSING: Lorenz 3-5-0, 109
RECEIVING: Anderson 1-40, Cannone 1-16, Artem Aristov 1-53
Follow Eagle-Tribune Sports Reporter Hector Longo on Twitter under the screen name @MVcreature.
