DIXFIELD — At 2-2, the Oak Hill football team knew Friday night could be the proverbial fork in the road.

The Raiders didn’t want to post a losing mark, and thanks to some clutch play in the final quarter and in overtime, Oak Hill managed an 18-12 win over Dirigo to post a winning record.

“It’s a great win,” said Oak Hill coach Dave Wing. “We didn’t want to be 2-3. The kids played great.”

Dirigo  erased a 12-0 deficit at the half and had the chance to win the game late. The Cougars (3-2) got as close as the 13- yard line in the final minute. Dirigo failed on three straight pass attempts and had a 29-yard field goal attempt go wide with 26 seconds left in regulation.

“We kind of let them off the deck, but then we came back and made some big plays,” said Wing.

In the overtime, Oak Hill had first crack from the 10. The go-to guy was Cody Depuy, who finished with 134 yards on 30 carries and three touchdowns. He pounded the ball up the middle on three consecutive tries and finally plunged in from the 1 for the 18-12 lead. Oak Hill’s attempt to kick the point after was short.

“(Depuy) is the guy we go to, no question about it,” said Wing.

Dirigo then got a two-yard gain from Jake Dowland, who had 78 yards on 19 tries for Dirigo. Then quarterback Ben Holmes had his arm hit as he tried to throw, resulting in an incomplete pass. On third down, Holmes fumbled and Oak Hill recovered to secure the win.

“The defense came up big in the fourth quarter and in the overtime,” said Wing.

Oak Hill built a 12-0 lead in the first half.  Depuy scored from four yards out with 9:50 left in the half and added another four-yard run with 45 seconds remaining. Oak Hill outgained Dirigo 260-106 in yards in the first half.

The Cougars were more effective in the second half. Dirigo had a 7-0 edge in first downs to start the half. The Cougars cashed in on a third-and-12 pass play to Spencer Trenoweth  for 56 yards with 9:36 left in the third. Then a fourth-and-13 pass to Trenoweth led to a Bryan Blackman burst up the middle from the 10 to tie it with 4:50 left in the third.

Dirigo moved the ball on its next possession but Depuy picked off a Holmes pass. That lead to a lengthy Oak Hill drive that reached the 9. The drive stalled there and the Raiders’ hopes on fourth-and-two were dashed with a fumble on the hand-off attempt.

The Raiders got the ball back but fumbled it away at their own 36 late in the fourth. That’s when Dirigo drove it down to the 13, but the Raiders pass defense held strong.

“I thought we did a good job with the pass defense later on,” said Wing.

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