Windham Varsity Football vs. Pinkerton 9/3/22

That was a great opening game for the Jaguars. Yes, it was a 28-27 loss, and there are no moral victories…but it was a game they SHOULD have won against a significantly superior (in terms of size, strength, bench depth, school population, resources, etc.) team. A handful of errors resulted in a game that got away. After going 1-7 last year, the moment almost appeared too big for Windham.

Tiger An has clearly been in the gym all year and is a force at running back for Windham who needs the solid play from its RBs in order to compete and eat clock in the face of faster teams with more advanced offenses.

The too big moments? I’ll point to 10:22 left in Q2 with the situation Windham in a 4th and one situation when driving into Pinkerton territory. The play didn’t get called in time and resulted in a delay of game penalty making it 4th and 6…but still the offense wasn’t on the same page and had to call a timeout…and out of the timeout? A shanked punt…not what the Doctor ordered.

Further giveaways to Pinkerton included a pick-6 on the first pass of the game, a lack of fielding anyone to return punts or even just down the ball (leading to numerous “free” yardage given to Pinkerton), a failed 2-point attempt late in the game that would have given Windham (in theory) the win. Look, I get it…you’re home, you’re the underdog, you are lucky to even be in the game, anything else is gravy…But for goodness sake…even if you get the 2 points and tie it, Pinkerton would have had at least one or two more shots at scoring anything to come away with the win. And Pinkerton KNEW what was coming…Windham hadn’t shown an ability to throw but had succeeded in wearing down the defensive line of Pinkerton in the hot weather. Everyone there knew it was going to be a Tiger An run…and sure enough…stuffed. Poor play call to go for two, poorer still to tip your pitches.

But that wasn’t it…Windham still wasn’t done. Their Defense stood up Pinkerton on the next possession (again, inexplicably kicking a low roller which they had done all day and giving up 30+ yards of field when Cole Yennaco gobbled the ball up—yeah, you can say it was an “onsides kick” but really? Windham hadn’t actually kicked a kickoff all day soooooo….) in a much needed three and out…

Having the ball back with about 4+ minutes left, Windham went back to the ground and drove down to about the Pinkerton 35 with 2 1/2 minutes to play…surely all they needed to do was to keep running and running and at the worst have a fieldgoal attempt for the win or maybe catch a good run from Tiger or QB scramble for the win…but no…another unforced error with a QB fumble turned the ball over and ended the day.

An excellent effort all around coming back from 14-0 in the first half to go toe-to-toe with Pinkerton for three quarters of play showing no quit. Now if just the details can come together, they may have something.

Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Alvrine 04/26/22

Well, we better enjoy this one as it may be the last one for a bit. A 20-4 in Hudson vs. Alvrine runs Windham’s record to 6-0 and an 8th place ranking in the state amongst all lacrosse teams (D1 included). The game was played in a steady rain which made photography conditions dark but my focusing seemed to be back on point and produced some good images that have a distinctly different feeling that the bright sun and deep shadows of prior games. Defense was smothering again though Alvrine clearly has issues in some basic skillsets making turnovers and pressure easy to generate. Offense came fast and furious with Windham simply passing the ball in a circle without any attempt at scoring for about the last 8 minutes of the game. If anything the win was more dominating than the 15-2 win Windham had over Alvrine earlier in the year.

That said, Windham now enters the heart of their schedule with Derryfield, St. Thomas Aquinas, Winnacunnet, and Portsmouth accounting for the next four games. Windham could easily go 0-4 in those games and should consider going 2-2 in those games to be a solid accomplishment. Derryfield is #6 in the state while Portsmouth is the defending state champion and is ranked 4th in the state and Winnacunnet 11th while St. Thomas Aquinas played Winnacunnet to a standstill earlier in the year and beat Hollis-Brookline 16-1 (Windham beat them 18-8). Most at risk in the next 4 games is Windham’s defense who hasn’t really had to play any tough competition all year. Without being tested, Windham doesn’t really know what it has on the back end. These games will tell whether they are a contender or pretender feasting on easy competition.

Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Bow 04/12/22

Good game to start the year. 14-1 was the final score against an overmatched Bow team. Coming into the season Windham was ranked in the top 4 or 6 teams in DII and Bow in the bottom 6 or 8 so this was expected. Bow only managed three shots on goal for the game, was unable to control faceoffs and couldn’t force Windham turnovers. Offensively Windham looked strong on faceoffs which is key for them and while on the smaller side physically, Windham didn’t put a lot of balls on the ground, distributed the ball well resulting in balanced scoring from mid-distance chances (not many bombs that went in by luck and not many easy dumpins from up close—both of which are good signs) and stayed out of any need for physical play. The starters were in until about the final 5 minutes of the game and more than held their own in all phases of the game.

Friday’s upcoming night game on the road vs. Kingswood will be the early test of the season as the teams are ranked closely to start the year. That should give a better view at any cracks in the team’s capabilities and willingness to punch back when hit in the mouth.

Windham Varsity Boys Basketball vs. Portsmouth 2/9/22

And so it ends…

The fact that it ends this way for every team but one each year makes it no less disappointing. The Windham boys team exited the DI tournament in the first round with a loss to Portsmouth in a score of 57-39. The loss dropped Windham to a record of 9-10 on the year.

The loss really came down to two factors—the largest being an inability to score inside or put any real pressure on the interior defense. As a point of note…Windham did not go to the line a single time in the game and drew only a couple fouls (literally). You can’t compete if you can’t impose your will and draw contact. This has been a consistent issue for Windham the past two years. In the prior season they posted a record of 8-5 under then coach EJ Perry but again bowed out in the first round of the DI tournament. Last year they had the dynamic scoring of Joey DaSilva to bail them out at times and while the team this year had some great outside shooting, it was not of a nature that could create its own shot like DaSilva could. Spot up and open shooting off skip passes or defensive lapses this team had down…it just was not able to put a player one on one and beat the other team.

The second factor in the game that came to the forefront was a lack of cohesive defense on backdoor cuts and pick and rolls. While Windham had throughout the years shown an ability to effectively double team ball handlers and switch on open players appropriately, they struggled here against the slashing and cutting Portsmouth team leading to numerous easy layups.

All in all it was not a bad season. 9-10 isn’t a bad showing for a team that lost its leading scorer and numerous starters from the year before and also switched coaches. The style they play however, regardless of the coach, will always be subject to letdowns, cold streaks, and ineffective play if they can’t develop an inside presence both offensively and defensively and multiple ball handlers who can break the press on their own. Being completely absent in the former (perhaps a bit by choice and style) and possessing only a single one of the latter leaves them subject to more physical, aggressive teams.

Oh…and the lighting and gym in Portsmouth? Wow…how horrid is that place? Its like playing in a dungeon…almost as bad as Timberlane. You can’t hardly see your hand in front of your face at times its so dark, the lights are literally from about 1920 and cast these weird shadows and sickly pall over everyone. And the rims? I’ve never heard a ball come off the metal that way before…it sounded like the ball was bouncing off a tin shanty out on a local pond…No wonder Portsmouth isn’t an outside shooting team…they can’t see the basket and there is zero chance of the ball getting a fair bounce off those hoops…just…wow….

On to the spring sports!

Windham Varsity Boys Basketball vs. Merrimack 12/23/21

Well, that was close…after being up 14 at the half and double digits well into the tail of the third quarter, the Windham boys found themselves down three with under two minutes left. They are most certainly a live by the three and die by the three team. Consistently out rebounded (but not out efforted) and outscored in the paint, Windham had just enough deep shooting to claw back to a 61-58 win. Much like last year Windham has the opportunity to step up and bite nearly any other team if they aren’t locking down on outside shooters but could also lose to potentially any team. Led by Chris Bilone and Jack St. Hilare bombing away from three and with Jack Runde providing the bulk of the dirty work underneath, they are less one dimensional than they were in ‘21, but are still going to be subject the highs and lows of outside shooting that can go cold for long stretches. A very good win here against a taller, more physical, Merrimack team, which makes it two in a row. Well done.

Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Keene 05/18/21

This was their ninth win in a row with the following day’s far more difficult win at Keene running Windham’s streak to 10. The NHIAA site only shows Windham’s record as 9-5 but it is missing an additional game and win against Spaulding making their record 10-5. Unfortunately Windham’s next game is against Pinkerton, a DI team and one of the best in the state. making the game simply competitive would be an accomplishment. But that’s this weekend. This 13-4 victory was never in doubt with Windham getting out to a bit lead early. Again, not much work for the defense, who, when challenged, presented an adequate but not strong position. Windham has its best players on offense and presents the scoring punch to compete in the upcoming DII tournament but defense is its weak spot. After Pinkerton will close out the regular season next week with two games against Goffstown, both winnable games against a solid opponent giving Windham a good warmup before the tournament which should start with a home game.

Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Dover 5/4/21

Well, well, well…it looks like we have a winning streak. Three games in a row to bring the record to 3-5. Certainly a happier team than the one that was 0-5. I had thought coming in that Dover would be a solid match for Windham as they too had been beat up by Winnacunnet and were a Division I team while Windham is a DII effort. This was not quite the test predicted though with Windham coming away with an 11-5 win. Again the ability to win faceoffs paid dividends over and over again in this game as did the recent addition of Chris Billone to the team. I’d also love to see Dan Charest be allowed to play more offense than simply running the ball across the midfield and then running off. His speed is a killer. Defense could still use a good deal of work as there is too much stickwork and not enough bodywork, positioning, and cutting of angles. But…I’ll take it for now as they begin a stretch of games that are well within their wheelhouse to win.

Windham JV Basketball vs. Pinkerton 02/25/21

Well, this was the last game of the year for the JV team. It was a loss as was the prior away game at Pinkerton who is just too big a team for Windham to deal with. Out rebounded and outskilled down low, this was a tough matchup. Unlike the prior away game vs. Pinkerton this one went Windham’s way for the first half when they brought more effort and passion than they have brought all year. But a short let down from their top energy was all that Pinkerton needed to cut the deficit and return to a leading spot from where Windham could not fully recover. JV finished the year with an 8-4 record and should be very happy with the result. In truth I think they should have finished 8-2 as the only team they were outclassed by was Pinkerton. The other losses were a matter of focus and effort. Something they will have to work on as many of these players move on to Varsity next year.

Windam Varsity Basketball vs. Bishop Guertin

The home game of the home and home series vs. BG. After romping to a 16 point win at BG Windham went flat at home, unable to hit a shot. Seriously…the first have was unbelievably gross in terms of offensive abilities. This is the issue that Windham has…if they don’t hit from 3—particularly DaSilva, they don’t have sufficient confidence from their younger players and particularly their low post players to make it hard on the other team. A certain willingness to bang around in the paint is missing. To truly be a special team they will need both abilities or else they will be completely reliant upon staying hot…all the time—a difficult proposition when DaSilva gets double teamed or has an off night. This loss ran their record to 4-2 on the year.

Windham JV Basketball vs. Bishop Guertin 2/5/21

Game one of the two? Not good. Blowout city. A struggle from beginning to end exhibiting the team’s lack of rebounding and difficulty with the press. An inside scoring presence has begun to emerge in Conrad but the entire team needs to improve its rebounding and take on a more committed attitude when it comes to the game. Good action in the game however as Windham struggled to stay within shouting distance of BG who was definitely the best team they have faced this year and played almost in an opposite manner from Windham with nary a 3-pointer shot by them in the game. All cuts, speed and aggression to the hoop.

Deer Leap in Winter

Just a quick post on visiting Deer Leap yesterday. I’d been waiting all winter to see if we got a good snow storm to go and photograph the cliff of Deer Leap here in Windham. With Moekel Pond now actually filled in again with water I thought there would be an opportunity to walk out on frozen ice and shoot the cliffs from an angle that hadn’t been seen in a few years (previously being a slow moving swap that would not have been all that fun to cross any time of year. Snowshoeing in was relatively easy though you couldn’t part at Moekel Dam due to the road being “unmaintained” and the town of Pelham simply creating a 5 foot high pile of snow on it preventing access. The ice was frozen though slushing in parts and it was pretty cool to see. I think this is the tallest cliff in Windham (not 100% sure) and it was interesting to see covered in fresh snow. A really neat piece of conservation land so close to home. Now if only people would stop spraypainting crap all over the rocks and ruining the environment for selfish reasons…

Windham JV Basketball vs. Timberlane 01/19/21

So we’ll begin the JV Basketball season with a win by Windham. Down three players due to Covid protocols the team drew down a couple members of the Varsity team to help out. The game was a bit of a blowout but Timberlane started to cut into the large Windham lead in the second half when the pressure relaxed and Windham felt they had the game in hand—something they need to cease doing as in today’s game it is far too easy to squander even a 20 point lead. It was a good to start the season though and showed the potential this group of players has both this year and next. I’ll be putting more of the photos up in the next day or two, hopefully completing this before the Timberlane rematch on Thursday.

Windham Vs. Salem 10/24/20 Gallery

So we are going to try something a little different and put the larger photos here vs just on Instagram where they are tiny. Also…why give Instagram traffic, hits, advertising and so on?? Hope you enjoy. All photos are available in full rez on request if you need to print them out at a larger scale. I’ll be updating this gallery with more photos from the game as time goes on.