A North semifinal: Eagles bend, don't break to knock off top-seeded Eddies

Xzabier Weaver, left, of Edward Little High School reacts after Leighton Girardin was tackled on a fake extra point attempt during the first half against Windham on Friday. Weaver scored the touchdown prior to the failed extra point. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)

AUBURN — The opening drive of each half of Friday night’s Class A North semifinal between No. 1 Edward Little and No. 4 Windham summed up the rest of the game.

Edward Little started the game with a 14-play drive and punted. Windham started the second half with a 14-play drive and doubled its lead.

Windham stopped the Red Eddies four times in its own territory and converted its own opportunities to win, 21-12, at a windy Walton Field on Friday night.

Treva Valliere and Stuart Salom each had a rushing touchdown, and a late interception and spectacular return for a touchdown by Hunter Coffin iced it for the Eagles (6-4), who are headed back to their fourth consecutive regional final. They will meet Portland for the third year in a row next week.

“It’s a huge win, amazing win. Can’t even describe it,” Coffin said.

The Red Eddies (7-2), who were coming off a first-round bye, pulled to within 14-12 with 7:41 left when QB Grant Hartley (7-for-17, 109 yards, one TD, one interception) ran for a seven-yard touchdown.

A delay of game penalty on the Eddies pushed them back five yards after they lined up for the two-point conversion to tie it. Hartley’s subsequent pass fell incomplete.

Connor McInnis recovered EL’s ensuing onside kick attempt for Windham. The Eagles went three-and-out, but Anothony Kilgallon hustled to down Tanner Bernier’s punt at EL’s 2 with 3:11 remaining.

The Red Eddies converted on two third downs and one fourth down to get to their own 39 before a ineligible receiver penalty wiped out what would have been a first down completion near midfield.

On the next play, Hartley threw over the middle and was picked off by Coffin around his own 40. The senior weaved his way towards the Windham sideline, followed a block by Bernier and plowed into the end zone for the clinching score with 23.4 seconds remaining.

“I didn’t know what was happening (on the return),” Coffin said. “I was just trying to get the farthest downfield I could and then I saw (Bernier) sprinting down and make a block. My teammates were yelling ‘Go down. Go down,’ and I was, like, no I’m taking it to the house.”

After game-planning to stop the run in 21-13 loss to EL on Oct. 13, Windham conceded yardage in short chunks to EL running backs Maxx Bell (24 carries, 65 yards) and Caden Begos (10 carries, 44 yards) in the rematch.

“What Edward Little does is they rely on the big play, and what we try to do is take away that big play,” Bernier said.

“We were trying to be smart about formation, what they were doing, and make them nickel and dime us,” Windham coach Matt Perkins.

With the help of a facemask that negated a Windham sack on fourth down, Edward Little drove from its own 40 to Windham’s 27 on the game’s opening drive. But Bernier and Valliere dropped Bell on for a nine-yard loss on second down, and Hartley’s pass on 3rd-and-17 fell incomplete. EL elected to punt from the Eagles’ 36.

A punt to end EL’s next drive turned disastrous as the snap was fumbled and Windham recovered at the Eddies’ 36. Salom ran for seven yards on 4th-and-2, and Coffin made a sliding catch on a 3rd-and-7 pass from Bernier to get to the 4. After an EL penalty moved the ball to the 2, Valliere took a toss to the right into the end zone for a 7-0 lead with 8:07 left in the first half.

Bell returned the ensuing kickoff inside the Windham 5, but a personal foul on the Eddies at the end of the run pushed the Eddies back to the Windham 46. They drove to the 27 before McInnis sacked Hartley on 4th-and-7.

A Ryan Ross interception and return to the Windham 40 gave the Eddies yet another chance to tie it before halftime.

They got to the 10, then got short gains on runs by Bell on first and second down. But with no time outs left and the clock winding down, Hartley was forced to spike the ball to stop it on third down. On fourth down from the 9, Windham’s coverage and pass rush forced Hartley to tuck it and run, and he was stopped after a short gain as the halftime horn sounded.

Windham made the squander hurt even more with another touchdown drive to begin the second half. Starting at their own 33, the Eagles converted on a 4th-and-1 and twice on 3rd-and-6 to sustain the scoring march, which Salom capped with a three-yard run to make it 14-0 with 3:56 left in the third quarter.

“He’s little but he runs with so much heart,” Bernier said of Salom, who missed much of the season with a broken thumb.

“That drive was a big set-up for us, and it keeps the pressure on them,” Perkins said.

Edward Little needed just three plays to answer for its first touchdown as Hartley found wide receiver Xzabier Weaver on a go route down the Windham sideline for a 66-yard touchdown that made it 14-6.

“We got the right matchup that we wanted and he ran a really good route and Grant threw a good ball,” EL coach Dave Sterling said. “It was just a matter of popping it when we needed to pop it.

A broken play on the extra point attempt kept it 14-12, but a fumbled punt snap on Windham’s next drive gave the Eddies another opportunity to score, starting at the Eagles’ 18.

Four consecutive runs by Bell, the Class A North Player of the Year, netted only nine yards, however, and turned the ball back over on downs.

“Those (defensive stands) were absolutely huge,” Bernier said. “We’ve been a decent defensive team the entire year. We rely on our defense, and our philosophy is, if we win two of the three stages of the game, we usually win that ballgame, and I think we did that today.”

EL got another break when Bernier fumbled and Bell recovered at Windham’s 19 with 9:39 left. After a pass interference call in the end zone against the Eagles, Begos ran for three yards on 4th-and-2, setting up Hartley’s TD run that pulled the Red Eddies within two.

Caden Begos of Edward Little High School powers his way through Windham defenders Nathan Watson (25) Logan Emerson (35) and Anthony Kilgallon (84) during the first half in Auburn on Friday. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)

Maxx Bell of Edward Little High School is tackled by George Butts of Windham in Auburn on Friday. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)

Xzabier Weaver of Edward Little High School hauls in a 66-yard touchdown pass over Windham defender Kaleb Cidre to put the Red Eddies within one point during the second half in Auburn. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)

Hunter Coffin of Windham is stopped by Edward Little’s defense on a botched punt during the second half in Auburn on Friday. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)