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Windham
hands Academy
football loss
Natanael Barbosa Torres is the all-time leading rusher at Windham High School.
He has gained over 4,000 yards in his high school career.
The Woodstock Academy Centaurs found out how he has accomplished that Nov. 1.
Barbosa Torres ran over the Centaurs, gaining 245 yards in 13 carries and scoring five times to lead the Whippets to a 47-0 victory.
“He is a talented runner,” Woodstock Academy coach Sean Saucier said of the Windham senior. “We knew he was big and strong and we saw how fast he was, too. He created some problems for us.”
The Centaurs (1-7) didn’t need any more problems.
They went into the contest shorthanded, missing two starting offensive linemen and two defensive backs for various reasons.
“We put some kids in there that had to step up and they did what they could,” Saucier said.
The Whippets scored on all but one of their possessions in the first half.
Barbosa showed off his strength when he scored on short runs of 3 and 2 yards in the first quarter to give the Whippets a 12-0 lead.
His speed was on display in the second quarter when he added touchdowns of 24, 76, and 32 yards. On the 76-yard rumble, Barbosa Torres outran Woodstock Academy’s Nick Bedard, one of the fastest Centaurs on the field.
Issiah English (6 carries, 101 yards) had the other first half touchdown on a 62-yard gallop late in the second quarter.
Barbosa finished up the scoring for Windham (5-2) with a 20-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
It was the third win in a row for the Whippets.
The Centaurs didn’t get out of their end of the field in the first half and had only 38 yards rushing.
That changed a little in the second half when the Centaurs did get into Windham territory on a 25-yard pass from Derek Thompson (6-for-14 passing, 43 yards) to Caleb Feen that accounted for 43 yards.
The Centaurs were forced to punt but pinned the Whippets inside their own 10.
Windham couldn’t escape and a shanked punt gave the Centaurs the ball on the Windham 10.
Woodstock Academy got down to the 1-yard line, but on 4th-and-goal, Thompson was stopped by the Windham defense on the quarterback sneak.
“I thought Derek was going to get it in there, he was close,” Saucier said. “There were a couple of sparks in the second half that I appreciated, but overall, we didn’t have it.”
The Centaurs play their final home game of the season at 1 p.m. Nov. 10 against the Cromwell-Portland cooperative at the Bentley Athletic Complex.
Cromwell-Portland comes in with a 7-1 record.
“They’re having a great season. We’re studying their film, take a look at it, come up with a game plan and you never know. It’s Senior Day so we’re trying to make this the best week possible for the seniors,” Saucier said.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy
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