Defense steps up to help lift Salem football past Windham (video)

WINDHAM - The Salem High School football team has been up to the task on defense for most of this season.

So when Windham threw the Blue Devils a wrinkle Saturday afternoon, they were quickly able to adjust and continued to be one of the stingiest units in the state.

Salem kept the Jaguars out of the end zone until late in the game, as the defense bent but didn't break all afternoon, and the Blue Devils did just enough offensively to come away with a 17-7 win over Windham in a Division I South Conference game.

"I knew it was going to be a tough game," Salem senior Josh Maroun said. "They’re always tough, hardnosed kids. We had to outplay them. We had to keep reminding everyone to keep calm, play your game. If every one does their job, then the right outcome will happen and that’s what happened."

Maroun led the Salem (5-1) offense by rushing for 123 yards on 26 carries, while Jacob Brady and Riley Mulvey each had a touchdowns. Brady also kicked a 23-yard field goal early in the third quarter to help the Blue Devils take a two-score lead.

It was enough on a day when Salem's defense had to adjust on the fly.

Windham (2-4) played most of the game running a no-huddle offense with quarterback Rocky Heres in the shotgun. The junior had a big game throwing the ball, going 13 of 23 passing for 194 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

But the Jaguars had the ball inside the Salem 20-yard line five times, but were unable to score on any of those drives, and it wasn't until the Blue Devils had taken a 17-0 lead with under five minutes to play that Windham got on the board.

"We hadn’t seen anything," Salem coach Rob Pike said of Windham's changes on offense. "Our kids do a good job. We have a lot of older kids on that side of the ball and they do a good job of playing good, sound defensive football. That was good."

The Jaguars outgained the Blue Devils, 277-238, but kicker Adam Burke missed two field goals and Heres was picked off inside the Salem 10 late in the game.

"When you watch it from the stands, it seems like a new offense," Windham coach Jack Byrne said. "For us, it’s the same philosophy, it’s just looking for space. We have a quarterback that can put it on the money, we have guys who can catch it. To me, it’s not that different. We slung it a little more, Rocky got real creative. We’re getting more advanced. We’re putting more wrinkles in because we’re more familiar with each other."

Salem opened the game with a nine-play, 60-yard drive that ended with Brady's 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal. The junior also kicked the extra point to put the Blue Devils up 7-0 with 7:13 left in the first quarter.

That touchdown was the only score of the first half, although Windham looked like it might tie the game on the final play of the half, when a jump ball by Heres was tipped by a Salem defender and ended up in the arms of Bobby DiCicco. But DiCicco was brought down at the 4-yard line with no time remaining on the clock.

After Windham went three-and-out on its first possession of the second half, Salem marched down the field again, going 42 yards in seven plays. The Blue Devils had first-and-goal at the 10, but settled for a 23-yard field goal by Brady for a 10-0 lead with 6:44 left in the third.

The Jaguars responded with a long drive of their own, going 56 yards in 10 plays, but on third-and-3 at the Salem 12, Heres was sacked by Mulvey for a loss of 7 yards. Burke came on for a 27-yard field goal, but his kick was short and it remained a 10-0 lead for the Blue Devils.

Starting at its own 20, Salem put the game away with a 15-play, 80-yard drive that ate up 7:18 and ended with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Kaleb Bates (3 of 6, 72 yards) to Mulvey to make it 17-0 with 4:45 left to play.

"That second score was good," Maroun said. "It gave us a little cushion. We didn’t have to worry that if they scored, we had to score right away."

A big kickoff return by Stefan Robert and a personal foul on Salem gave Windham the ball at the Blue Devils' 30-yard line, and two plays later, Heres found DiCicco for a 30-yard touchdown to make it 17-7 with 4:22 remaining. The touchdown was the first score allowed by Salem's defense since a Week 2 loss to Londonderry.

Windham's CJ Giardino recovered the onside kick, giving the Jaguars the ball at the Salem 49, and Heres moved the offense down inside the 15. But on second-and-3 at the Blue Devils' 12, his pass was picked off at the goal line by Salem's Thomas Ahlers with 2:12 to play.