LISBON — The defending Class D champs made a statement Saturday afternoon — the road to the Gold Ball still goes through Oak Hill.
The Raiders took advantage of two key fumbles and rode a big day from senior Kyle Flaherty to down previously unbeaten Lisbon 28-14 at Thompson Field.
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“They were clearly winning the battle up front today and they’ve got such good runners that you can stop one, but you can’t stop the other,” Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan said. “Then if you manage to stop them both they can put it in the air. They have a pretty threatening offense.
“… It’s pretty easy — they were the state champs coming in and they’re the state champs until somebody beats them. The way they’re playing today, they’re playing like champions. We’ll have to see what happens in the future.”
Flaherty has dealt with a hamstring injury for the better part of the season, but he looked much more like the running back the Raiders have come to know over the years on Saturday as he finished with 202 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries.
“I’m very happy with how it went today,” Flaherty said. “I’ve really stuck to it. I’ve been to therapy, I went to therapy like three days a week for I don’t even know how long.
“I’ve just really tried to work hard because I don’t want to miss my senior season and I’m finally back, so it feels good.”
Alex Mace continued to be a dual threat for Oak Hill and finished with 148 all-purpose yards, while quarterback Dalton Therrien was effective in completing 5-of-8 passes for 118 yards — including a 34-yard touchdown strike to Kyle Tervo.
“I had so much time today,” Therrien said. “My line, I couldn’t thank them enough. I thanked them every single time I got back in the huddle. They’re a great group of guys. One heartbeat, that’s all we are.”
The tipping point for Oak Hill came late in the opening quarter following a Flaherty punt, as Lisbon took over on a drive starting at its own 44-yard line. The Greyhounds fumbled on their first play from scrimmage, however, and Flaherty was in perfect position to dive on the loose ball at the Lisbon 35-yard line.
A steady dose of Flaherty and Mace allowed Oak Hill to strike first, as Flaherty plunged into the end zone from one-yard out on the seventh play of the drive to make it 7-0 Raiders with 16.6 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
The Greyhounds held onto the ball for all of seven seconds, as Lisbon fumbled on the ensuing kickoff and the ball was recovered by the Raiders deep in their opponent’s territory.
The drive faltered out of the gates with Oak Hill going six yards in the wrong direction to set up a 4th-and-15 at the Lisbon 34-yard line, but just when it seemed as if the possession would be an empty one the Raiders rose to the occasion.
Therrien stepped up to avoid the Lisbon pass rush with the pocket collapsing behind him and lofted a pass just over the outstretched arm of a Greyhound defender to Tervo in the front, right corner of the end zone to give Oak Hill a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
“Kyle Tervo had a great catch at probably the most important time in the game,” Oak Hill coach Stacen Doucette said. “We were throwing to Alex, but Alex is a great player and sometimes great players are decoys.”
The lead ballooned to 21-0 on the next offensive possession for the Raiders when Flaherty capped off a 10-play, 90-yard drive with another one-yard touchdown plunge, but the Greyhounds were determined to make the game interesting.
Lisbon quarterback Kyle Bourget responded by leading his team down field with just 4:04 remaining until halftime, completing 5-of-9 passes on an 80-yard drive that culminated with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Henry Adams with 6.7 seconds left in the opening half.
The score cut the deficit to 21-6 with the Greyhounds set to receive the opening kick of the second half. Lisbon managed to matriculate the ball down to the Oak Hill 10-yard line, but the Greyhounds came away empty after two straight incomplete passes by Bourget on third and fourth down.
From there both teams traded a pair of empty possessions before Flaherty provided the game-sealing touchdown on a 68-yard run on the final play of the third quarter.
The Greyhounds answered with a 12-yard touchdown run from Joe Philbrick, but it would be the last time the Lisbon offense was on the field as Oak Hill held the ball for the final 8:53 of the contest.
“I told them we’re going to have zero mistakes and this is the drive that is going to spring us into the playoffs,” Doucette said of the game-clinching drive. “We’re going to play who they tell us to play.”
Evan Crawley — 621-5640
ecrawley@mainetoday.com
Twitter: @Evan_Crawley
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