Windham’s Alex Eye breaks through a pair of tackles on his way to the end zone on a 33-yard score in the third quarter.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Sometimes a score can tell one story.

Sometimes a score does not tell the entire story.

At first glimpse, Windham’s 71-34 loss to St. Joseph Central Catholic identifies a dominant victory for the Crimson Streaks.

And, yes, that part is undeniably true.

“To be honest, we were just outmatched. They are very difficult to defend, they run their offense cleanly and their quarterback is exceptional,” Windham head coach Jake Eye said.

The numbers back it up, with the Streaks totaling 611 yards of balanced offense (331 rushing and 280 passing) that included Liam Thiessen rushing for 222 yards and two touchdowns and Zach Ohms completing 12-of-15 passes for 280 yards and four touchdowns.

Inside the loss, though, there was more for the Bombers.

The 34 points racked up by Windham’s offense was the most scored on the Streaks this season. And while the Bombers could not keep up with the offensive pace of their opposition on Friday, they still totaled 359 yards. On the ground, the Bombers rushed for 130 yards led by Dejuan Ramsey’s 71. In the air, Bryan Smithberger threw for 229 yards, with Alex Eye catching a pair of touchdowns for 91 yards, while Xavier Bruton had 68 yards receiving and Ramsey had 40.

It fell short of what was needed for a win, but left coach Eye optimistic for what awaits his team moving forward.

“We feel like our offense is as good as any team we will see,” Eye said. “Tonight, we did some really nice things, but we had some chances that we missed on and there were times, especially early, that we shot ourselves in the foot. We didn’t execute and that is frustrating, but we never stopped playing.”

Which uncovered another bright spot for the Bombers that was not necessarily reflected by the final score.

Windham running back Dejuan Ramsey gets to the edge to score a first-quarter touchdown.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

“I was proud that we never quit tonight,” Eye said. “They are a very physical team. Maybe even more physical in person than we anticipated, but we battled until the end of the game tonight.”

St. Joseph took control of the game with a 21-6 lead after the first quarter, including the first two scores coming within 29 seconds of each other on a 3-yard run by Andrew Spieldenner that was then followed by a 73-yard game-breaking run by Liam Thiessen on the first play from scrimmage after the Streaks recovered a Bombers fumble.

The Crimson Streaks extended their lead to 43-20 by halftime, with three more scores in the second quarter.

Windham, which scored its first touchdown on a 3-yard run by Ramsey in the first quarter, also found the end zone twice in the second quarter. The first was a 7-yard pass from Smithberger to Keegan Kiser (3 receptions for 19 yards) and a 58-yard pass from Smithberger to Eye.

It was the first of two scores from the Smithberger-Eye aerial connection, with the second coming in the third quarter on a 33-yard pass, with both touchdowns coming on the same play call.

Eye added a third touchdown of the game, with a 1-yard run in the third quarter, which cut the Bombers’ deficit to 51-34 and was set up by recovering an onside kick, but Windham simply could not keep pace with the Streaks’ prolific offense.

The Streaks scored the game’s final three touchdowns of the game to maintain a comfortable distance.

St. Joseph Central Catholic’s Andrew Spieldenner is upended just before scoring on a touchdown run.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

Thiessen’s 222 yards came in only 17 carries (13.1 yards per carry), and he scored two touchdowns. Spieldenner added 99 yards on the ground and three touchdowns.

Thiessen added 106 yards on seven receptions, while Spieldenner scored two more times through the air. Additionally, Anderson Gill had two receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown and Owen Tooman’s only catch was a 37-yard score.