Woodstock
Seeing Wasp defenders quickly surrounding him, Patenaude threw a pass in Page’s direction.
Page redirected his route, caught the ball, made a defender miss and ran nearly halfway down the field into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown in a 27-20 Windsor victory over the Wasps, completing the Yellowjackets’ undefeated regular season and winning the showdown of unbeaten VPA Division III teams.
The TD was Windsor’s only completed pass of the game.
“I didn’t know it was going to work,” Patenaude said with a laugh as the postgame downpour started to pick up at Woodstock Union High’s James McLaughlin Field. “I had faith in the play call. But when I was getting tackled, I couldn’t lose all those yards, so I just hucked it.”
Windsor, with the win, solidified its place as the No. 1 seed in VPA Division III. Woodstock, the only other undefeated team in D-III coming into Friday’s contest, dropped to 7-1 and settled for the No. 2 seed.
“I’ve never felt something this great,” Balch said. “I’ve played Woodstock every year since third-grade football. Every year, it’s a war. It’s a battle. We love it. This is what we live for. You live for close games like this.”
Woodstock head coach Ramsay Worrall said the turning point of what was largely a back-and-forth game in the rain and mud was Patenaude’s touchdown pass to Page, calling it a “momentum killer.”
“We know they do it,” Worrall said. “We had all the momentum.”
Ezra Astbury, one of Woodstock’s go-to running options, fumbled three plays into Woodstock’s ensuing drive with 3:14 left to play, trying to answer Page’s late-game touchdown. Windsor took advantage as running back Hunter Judd found a hole for an uncontested 39-yard touchdown.
The Wasps lost more than the game: Running back Bill Wood, responsible for 110 points and 692 rushing yards this season, was taken out of the game late in the fourth quarter and did not return. Dan Robinson (10 touchdowns, 494 yards on the year) had to be helped off the field late in the fourth quarter and appeared to not put any pressure on his right leg.
Worrall did not know the severity of their injuries immediately afterward. Neither appeared in Woodstock’s final drive of the game with less than a minute on the clock and the Wasps down by seven points. Their absence, Worrall said, changed the dynamics of his team’s offense.
“I don’t know that it necessarily changes what we can do, but it changes the amount of experience we have out there,” he said. “It’s football. Next man up.”
Windsor took a 8-6 lead into halftime, jumping ahead on a 55-yard touchdown run by Patenaude midway through the second quarter. Patenaude scored again on a 45-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to put the Yellowjackets up, 14-6.
But Woodstock stormed back with Wood and Robinson, as each scored within 5 minutes, 25 seconds in the fourth quarter.
Windsor answered with 14 points of its own in two drives, taking only 2:54 off the clock, for the victory.
“The hype was real, as we can all see,” Balch said of Woodstock.
“I know we expected it from day one. We were right there with Woodstock. We knew they were a talented team, but we knew we were, too. To come out on top is an amazing feeling. But you can’t settle.”
Windsor took time this week to practice in the rain and mud, trying to simulate Friday night’s slippery conditions. Balch, known for his arm strength and his accuracy with 649 passing yards, was subdued as an offensive weapon, considering the conditions. He went without a completion in the game.
“We knew it was going to be hard throwing coming into this game because of the weather,” Balch said. “I saw (Page) catch it; I knew it was going to be a first down. But when I saw him kind of spin off, I knew he was gone. I know Dakota is a fast kid. He wasn’t going to get tackled in a spot like that.”
Windsor’s one successful pass was from Patenaude to keep Windsor’s undefeated season alive.
“We don’t feel like the top team,” Patenaude said. “We are the top team in Division III.”
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.