Marshwood held the ball for the majority of the fourth quarter and defeated Windham 14-13 in the Class B Football State Championship game at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland on Saturday afternoon.
The Hawks defense and special teams came up big early. The Eagles had the ball in the red zone on the first drive of the game, Marshwood forced a turnover on downs.
The Windham defense returned the favor by forcing a Marshwood fumble on the Hawks first possession, getting the ball back at the Marshwood 34.
Windham got into position to attempt a field goal. The kick was blocked as Cam Cornett took it 88 yards for a touchdown to give the Hawks a 7-0 lead with 2:32 left in the first quarter.
Windham had another solid drive halted by a big play by Marshwood when Tim Gori intercepted a pass at the two yard line. The Hawks took advantage as Andrew Goodwin scored from one yard out with 6:58 remaining in the first half.
Windham quickly responded when Will Leadbetter and Nick Garrison connected on a 10 yard score with 4:49 left in the half. The Eagles went for two points after a Marshwood penalty. The point after play came up just short. Garrison finished off the scoring late in the first half with a 73 yard interception touchdown return.
Marshwood had a big play on offense and defense in the second half to seal the win. On defense, they stopped Windham inside the one yard line on third and fourth down early in the final quarter. Just a few plays later with around 10 minutes left, Marshwood went for it on 4th and 1 from their own 10 yard line and converted the first down. The Hawks kept the ball the rest of the way.
It is the fourth straight season that Marshwood (9-3) has won the state title, sixth out of the last seven seasons, and 24th overall championship for the Hawks. Windham finishes the season 9-1.
