LEWISTON — Lewiston was banged up and missing key players, but coach Bill County turned to a bunch of players with a can-do attitude.

The Blue Devils had Windham High School on the ropes for the entire first half and trailed by only two before Windham pulled away in the second for a 49-20 win over Lewiston at Don Roux Field on Friday night.

“I think the first half we were not playing our style,” Windham coach Matt Perkins said. “We weren’t getting off the ball right. We weren’t physical. We were like, ‘Hey, it is a new place. This is a new team. What are we going to do?’ We made a few adjustments and tightened things up, and that obviously helped and went from there.

“You have to give the (Blue Devils) credit. They have some guys injured and they are playing their tails off. I have tons of respect for those kids and that staff. They got those guys to bounce back after a tough game last week. “

Blame it on a full moon, or that the Blue Devils learned how to make do despite a rash of injuries, but Lewiston didn’t know when to quit when the Eagles threw everything at the bruised team.

Less than a minute into the game, Lewiston pounced on a fumble on the second play of the game and got the ball back on the 10-yard line. Lewiston quarterback Eddie Emerson rushed for a 4-yard gain and then connected with Ace Curry for a 4-yard pass for a touchdown 11:06 into the first quarter. The kick failed, but the Devils were in the driver’s seat.

Windham returned the favor on the next set of downs when the Eagles passed and rushed their way to the 12-yard line, where Liam Sullivan rushed in for a touchdown. Josh Dugas topped it off with his kick, and Windham was on top, 7-6, at 5:18 into the first quarter.

The Eagles kept Lewiston at bay the rest of the quarter when Sullivan moved Windham to the 37 on a 21-yard rush. From there, Tyler Johnson connected with Zach Davis for 37-yard touchdown.

The Eagles kept coming in the second, capitalizing on a blocked punt to get the ball back on the 32. Johnson reeled off another touchdown pass for 24 yards to Matt Roy, giving Windham a 22-6 lead.

But the Devils didn’t seem fazed by the 16-point deficit and conjured up back-to-back touchdowns.

Sheon James broke free on a first-and-10 situation at the 28-yard line and ran it 72 yards for a touchdown. Curry scored on the conversion, making it 22-14.

The Blue Devils weren’t just finished. With 24 seconds left in the first half, Lewiston took advantage of several penalties and an Emerson 20-yard pass to Curry, and the Devils found themselves on the 2-yard line. Stone Colby took the handoff and scored.

“I was proud of the fact that our kids didn’t quit, they played hard,” County said. “Coming off an embarrassing loss last week, and having the injuries that we did, I told the kids I am not happy with the scoreboard, but I am proud with the way they played.

“I think they (Windham) were pretty much what we expected. I knew they were going to be good. I knew they were going to be well coached. Coach Perkins does a great job. They have some quickness. They pretty much spread the field out and give it to their tailback, and the kid is pretty special.”

When the second half rolled around, the Eagles were ready for the Blue Devils. Lewiston fumbled and Windham marched all the way to the 3 where Sullivan took in for the score.

In the fourth quarter, Windham binged on offense, scoring three touchdowns. Sullivan, Eric Webb (56-yard punt return) and Griffin Jacobson (67-yard run) came across with touchdowns to give the Eagles distance from the Blue Devils.

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