Windham senior running back Jack Eye sprints into the open field during a 60-yard touchdown run on Friday during the first quarter at Ed Liddle Field in Windham.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Just about everything you can imagine is different for the Windham Bombers’ football team in 2024.

You can see it.

You can feel it.

On Friday, the newest audience to witness it were the Tuscarawas Central Catholic Saints.

Trust that they left Windham’s Ed Liddle Field in agreement that the year’s Bombers are different.

Windham’s 42-0 victory was plenty evidence enough, especially considering that the Bombers stormed out to a 34-0 lead in the first quarter and scored all 42 of their points in the game’s opening 17 minutes to dominate their way to a victory on Military Appreciation Night.

The win improves the Bombers to 4-0, with wins over Lisbon, East Palestine, Jackson-Milton and now Tuscarawas Central Catholic.

Windham running back Dejuan Ramsey (left) celebrates his 23-yard touchdown run with offensive lineman Jayquon Smith.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

Windham’s record is a valid measurement in itself, but the program’s growth has so many more layers than that.

It has been a challenging three-year journey that included many low points before turning the corner to the success that the Bombers are now experiencing.

Just three years ago, head coach Jake Eye was forced to plan week to week because he was constantly uncertain if he would have 11 healthy players to compete in games. The tight-rope balancing act included continuous clocks during games, ending some games early to avoid injury and nearly double the losses compared to wins (10-17 combined record in 2021, 2022 and 2023).

One thing was clear, though, was that no Eye-coached team was ever going to give up, complain or feel sorry for themselves.

That’s the easy way.

Eye’s Bombers turned in the opposite direction and doubled down on the belief that if they worked hard and persevered, they would emerge on the other side better prepared to handle success.

Welcome to 2024.

The momentum began to build throughout the preseason and it continues to gain steam. After Friday’s shutout win, the Bombers have now outscored their four opponents 162-32.

Friday’s lopsided numbers also included Windham (4-0) out-gaining the Saints (0-4) 320 yards to 19.

Offensively, Windham totaled 256 yards on just 19 carries (13.5 yards per carry) and had four different runners score touchdowns. They didn’t need to air it out much, but quarterback Dylan McCune completed all three of his passes, including a touchdown toss to Carlos Bruton for the first score of the game.

Jack Eye followed with a 20-yard run, Dejuan Ramsey added a 23-yard jaunt, Eye raced in from 60 yards and Bruton added a 42-yard score — all in the first quarter.

The common theme on all of the Windham’s touchdowns on Friday was the physicality of blocking from the offensive line and receivers.

Windham’s Carlos Bruton tackles Saints ball-carrier Grady Stein during the first half of Friday’s game in Windham.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

It was not unusual to see Windham players pushing their assignment deep down the field to create open space for ball-carriers to exploit.

“All of our guys continue to work so hard and our blocking has been tremendous,” Jack Eye said. “Up front has been great, on the outside has been great. I appreciate how hard they work and it makes me want to work hard, too. It is paying off for us right now, but we can’t slow down.”

McCune echoed Eye’s compliments to the team’s blocking.

“As the quarterback, I know that as long as I get the ball to our backs, who are already super athletic and fast, I know our offensive line is going to build a wall and our receivers are going to be down the field blocking.”

On Friday, on touchdown runs by Eye and Ramsey, senior receiver Nick Hopper was blocking his assignment 30 yards down the field to clear out the left edge for both scores.

It is inside efforts like those that showcase the enthusiasm at which the Bombers are playing with.

The players are even excited to get to practice, with Jack Eye saying that practices often start up to 30 minutes early because the entire team is on the field and ready to go.

“Practices have been truly refreshing this year,” coach Jake Eye said. “We got another good win tonight, but we can’t get complacent. We have to get back to work.”