FRYEBURG – The Oak Hill coaching staff knew Kyle Harrington was good, and they knew Tony Poulin was good, but on Saturday in the Raiders’ first contest of the season against Fryeburg, both running backs showed just how valuable the two of them running in tandem can be.

Harrington ran for 170 yards and Poulin added 84 yards and three touchdowns as Oak Hill overcame a stumbling start to score 26 unanswered points, upending Fryeburg 26-7.

“We fumbled the first two snaps of the game,” said Oak Hill Coach Bruce Nicholas. “After that we settled down pretty well and moved the ball.”

Oak Hill moved the ball to the tune of 321 total yards, 315 of those coming on the ground, and four touchdowns, picking apart the Fryeburg defense with a basic running scheme.

“We would have gone to the pass if we had to,” said Nicholas, “but with a lead in the second half, we just needed to keep it on the ground.”

“We had trouble with their counter,” added Fryeburg coach Jim Thurston. “We had our linebackers over-pursuing, and that’s something we’ll go ahead and correct for the next game, hopefully.”

Three runs in particular outlined the day well for the Oak Hill offense, the first of which came on Oak Hill’s third drive of the first quarter. Harrington broke free on an off-tackle play to the right side and bounced past the linebackers. Only a shoestring tackle by Chris Harriman saved the touchdown, but the run still went for 26 yards. It was the first run of significant gain for Oak Hill and it got the blood flowing.

The second run came in the second quarter, with Oak Hill threatening from the Fryeburg 16-yard line. After Fryeburg took a time out, Poulin bounced a run to the left and went all 16 yards to put Oak Hill ahead for good with his second touchdown.

The final key run for Oak Hill came in the fourth quarter. Up just 13 points and facing a fourth-and-inches, Adam Labbe called his own number and ground out 29 yards on a dive play to all but seal the win.

“They have a talented bunch at Oak Hill,” said Thurston. “Their jump to Class B is really natural for them. They weren’t exactly playing a lax schedule before.”

For Oak Hill, the win gives the young offense confidence to build on as they head into week two, facing perennial Class B contender Leavitt.

“It does a lot better for the team to go in at 1-0 into a game like that said Nicholas. “It’s much more comforting.”

[email protected]