WALES — Oak Hill High School expected its switch from Class B to C football to pay competitive dividends.

There’s something to be said for timing, though. And being able to pick on programs closer to your own size while armed with a backfield of Josh Allen and Josh Prue’s caliber surely hasn’t hurt.

Together, the elusive Allen and punishing Prue have combined for 13 touchdowns at the forefront of a balanced Oak Hill offense. Their footwork is a primary reason that the Raiders (4-3) already have clinched a playoff spot, with a No. 4 seed and a Western Class C home quarterfinal game in their clutch if they defeat Maranacook tonight at Ricky Gibson Memorial Field of Dreams in Readfield.

“I think experience has a lot to do with it,” said Allen, a 5-foot-9, 190-pound junior who has bounced and bolted his way to just shy of 800 yards. “Our line has stepped it up. They do all their assignments.”

No matter which option Oak Hill employs, the defensive assignment is no picnic.

There is the prospect of trying to tackle Prue, who lowers his head, follows the lead of his center and guards and is a sure thing in short-yardage situations. Or you’re faced with the daunting task of lassoing Allen, whose propensity for shedding arm-tackles and jetting into the open field seems only to get stronger when he’s backed up to his own goal line.

“It’s interesting, but I didn’t notice how even it is until I figured out the statistics at the end of last week,” said Oak Hill coach Dave Wing. “Josh Allen has been between 16 and 18 carries in just about every game, and Josh Prue has about 11 to 15 carries, right straight through. So they’ve been consistent. Josh Prue is a straight-ahead, typical fullback who gets those tough yards. Josh Allen is more of a breakaway threat.”

Allen and Prue’s presence is a boon to Oak Hill’s passing game, which also has emerged as one of the most prolific in the Campbell Conference.

Brett Turcotte delivered two touchdown passes to Dillon Tibbetts in last week’s 40-25 loss to Livermore Falls, a game that saw Allen sidelined with a mouth injury in the first half. Turcotte’s top receiver, Ben Foss, has led the league in catches and receiving yardage for most of the season.

“It’s tough for defenses to focus on any one thing,” Prue said. “If they key down on one of us, we’ve still got the other. If they focus on our running game, we can pass. We’ve got good blocking up front.”

Oak Hill became a fixture in the Eastern Class B playoffs during Prue and Allen’s early years with the program, but the streak was less glamorous than it sounds.

Three-win seasons became the habit, with the Raiders typically sneaking into the eight-team field and serving as a sacrificial lamb for one of the top two seeds in the quarterfinal round. Oak Hill has tasted its greatest gridiron success at the lower enrollment levels, hosting a Class C playoff game earlier this decade and winning a Class D championship in 1982.

“Class C schools are still competitive,” said Allen. “But in the past Leavitt, Winslow and Gardiner all had bigger kids, sometimes with more athleticism. I think we’re matched up better with Class C teams.”

Maranacook made the conference move from Pine Tree to Campbell with Oak Hill, so the Raiders’ chief rivalry remains intact.

The Black Bears could sneak into the playoffs with a victory on their newly lit home field. Allen is not slated to return until next week. Tibbetts and freshman Joel Wells are among the backs slated to share the load with Prue as Oak Hill approaches its most significant game in years.

“It’s our chance to get a home playoff game and their chance to get in, so the game really means something,” Prue said. “It’d be pretty great to host a playoff game and actually have a chance to win the game instead of playing a powerhouse.”