LISBON FALLS – Turnovers are critical in football. Playing against an offense that knows how to convert those turnovers into points is fatal.

Lisbon converted three first-half fumbles into 17 points which ultimately proved the difference in a 39-21 win Saturday at Thompson Field.

“Every time we get a turnover, we say to ourselves that we have to capitalize on it,” Lisbon senior lineman Tyler Gawrys said. “If we can capitalize on their mistakes, that’s just going to help us mentally throughout the game.”

Lisbon gained 291 total yards, all on the ground, thanks to a balanced rushing attack led by QB Nate Blackwell (15 rushes, 100 yards) and Josh Cote (14 rushes, 91 yards), who scored two touchdowns apiece. Tobey Harrington chipped in with 69 yards and a TD on nine carries.

“It’s always nice to block for backs as strong for backs as strong as Josh and Nate and Jake (Cyr),” Gawrys said. “If you just hold your blocks long enough, it’s going to be a good play.”

The Greyhounds had their own turnover problems against an aggressive Clipper defense early on. But their own defense and special teams made enough big plays to keep Yarmouth from getting too confident before the Greyhounds made some adjustments and got their running game running more efficiently.

“I think (Yarmouth) had eight people coming on every single play, and they were finding some gaps. But our kids stepped it up and filled the holes and got used to what they were doing,” Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan said.

Fortunately for the Greyhounds (6-1), Yarmouth’s fumbleitis set in early and gave the offense a little time to adjust. Three plays into the game, the Greyhounds recovered the first fumble at their own 47. They marched to the Yarmouth 17 before stalling and Blackwell booted a 33-yard field goal into a strong breeze to give Lisbon a quick 3-0 lead.

Nate Pingitore’s 33-yard return on the ensuing kickoff set up the Clippers (1-6) at midfield. They drove to the 9 before an Eric Estabrook pass on 4th-and-5 bounced in and out of Colin Simsarian’s hands. That only temporarily stymied the threat as Lisbon fumbled on its next play, giving the Clippers the ball back at the 5. Brodie Woodson ran it in from there and gave Yarmouth a 7-3 lead.

Lisbon got the turnovers out of its system on its next possession when Estabrook picked off a Blackwell pass. Blackwell redeemed himself on the next series by reaching the first down marker on a fake punt on 4th-and-5 from his own 31, then ripping off a 28-yard run to get into Clipper territory. Harrington ran it in from 16 yards out two plays later and Blackwell connected with Alex Hall on the two-point conversion to put Lisbon in front for good, 11-7, with 9:27 left in the first half.

“Their quarterback was something else. He found every weakness we had,” Yarmouth coach Jim Hartman said of Blackwell. “When he saw a gap open or we adjusted, he readjusted very quickly, found an opening and just killed us.”

Yarmouth’s continued killing itself with fumbles on its next series, coughing the ball up at its own 25. After a Greyhound penalty, Harrington ran around left end for a 23-yard gain down to Yarmouth’s seven. Two plays later, Cote pounded it in from the 1 and Blackwell added the two-point run to make it 19-7.

Estabrook (12-for-19, 152 yards, two TDs) had a fine day throwing the ball but the Greyhounds were able to pressure him on a key 3rd-and-14 play to force a fumble that they recovered at the Yarmouth 2. Blackwell ran it in from there and the Greyhounds took a 25-7 cushion into halftime.

Lisbon added to the margin with a six-play, 51-yard TD drive to open the second half. Dan Schofield preserved the drive by recovering a Cote fumble at the 1, thus allowing Cote to score his second touchdown from there for a 32-7 lead.

Blackwell capped Lisbon’s scoring with a two-yard TD run sandwiched between Estabrook’s touchdown passes of six and eight yards to Woodson and Andrew Gabrielson, respectively.