WALES – In what was essentially a play-in game for the Pine Tree Conference playoffs, the Oak Hill Raiders kicked the door open Saturday.

Corey Stubbs and Tim Blais each recovered a pair of fumbles in the first half. The Raiders converted three of those turnovers into touchdowns, and then ran away in the second half with a 50-22 win over Hampden Academy.

The result effectively clinched a playoff spot for Oak Hill (3-4) and eliminated Hampden (2-5) from the postseason.

Senior Nick Brown led the Raiders’ dominant power running game with 164 yards and four touchdowns on 20 carries. Fullbacks Kamar Banton (11 carries, 55 yards, TD) and Drew Jannell (nine carries, 41 yards) helped them churn out 295 yards on the ground.

“We didn’t stop (Oak Hill’s running game). I thought we were better than we were inside,” Hampden coach Harry McCluskey said. “We didn’t do a good job of stopping them but hell, we didn’t do a good job on offense, either. We turned the ball over five times.”

The first turnover came on the game’s opening drive. The Broncos had marched 42 yards fairly easily to the Raider 19, but a holding penalty pushed them into a 3rd-and-19. Hampden QB Shawn Smith dropped back to pass and was hammered by Jannell and Stubbs fell on the ball at the 39.

The Raiders got on the scoreboard three plays later when QB Josh Sirois rolled right and found Blais streaking toward the right sideline for a 59-yard TD to make it 6-0.

On Hampden’s next series, Stubbs made his second fumble recovery on a snap over Smith’s head at the Bronco 37. Four plays later, Banton rumbled in from 25 yards out, and Brett Turcotte connected with Kyle Emmons on the two-point conversion for a 14-0 Raider lead.

They weren’t done yet. Hampden fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Blais pounced on it at the 25. Sirois kept the drive alive with a seven-yard run on fourth down and set up Brown’s three-yard TD run on the second play of the second quarter that made it 22-0.

The Broncos were able to get back into the game briefly in the second quarter. Oak Hill lined up to punt deep in its own territory, and the snap sailed over the head of Jannell, who intentionally kicked the ball out of the back of the end zone for a safety. The play also resulted in a 15-yard penalty on the ensuing free kick and so Hampden was able to start its next drive at the Raider 36. Ed Becker scored on a 17-yard run and the Broncos passed for the two-point conversion to pull within 22-10.

Oak Hill responded the way a playoff-bound team should, with a punishing touchdown drive. Brown’s 30-yard kickoff return set them up at their own 46, and then he and Jannell pounded the ball down to the 2, which is where Brown scored from, then ran in the two-point conversion, to put the Raiders up by 20.

“That was big because we’re still at a point where we’re kind of sensitive if things don’t go well,” Nicholas said. “The line’s doing a nice job and Nick’s running hard and we throw in our fullbacks once in awhile.”

“We weren’t running too well in the beginning of the season, so we knew we had to start picking it up,” Brown said. “Everyone is just working hard and it’s all coming together right now.”

Hampden fumbled the ensuing kickoff again and again Blais recovered at Hampden’s 43, but the Raiders weren’t able to capitalize on that miscue. The Broncos pulled back within two touchdowns with a 74-yard drive in the final two minutes of the half as Smith scored on a 20-yard run on the final play of the half.

Brown broke it open with a 47-yard TD run with 4:33 to go in the third quarter. Clyde Tibbetts added a 12-yard scoring run to put the Raiders at the half-century mark.

Hampden finishes up the season with winless Old Town, which will be of little or no help in terms of Crabtree points. The Raiders can improve their playoff positioning if they upset 6-1 Morse next Friday night. But Nicholas’ primary concern is that they are playing their best football going into the playoffs and finally reaping the benefits of playing their rugged early-season schedule, which included Gardiner, Winslow and Leavitt.

“In the beginning of the year, the schedule was quite tough on us and we weren’t quite sure of how good of a football team we are, but I think we’re coming around,” Nicholas said. “We’re looking to move up spots now.”