Game 1: Oak Hill 52, Telstar 29

The Raiders rode a dominant first quarter to their highest scoring output of the season. Led by Luke Washburn and Samson Lacroix, the defense forced three fumbles in the first 12 minutes, while touchdowns runs by Alex Mace, Parker Asselin, Kyle Flaherty and Asselin’s TD pass to Mace vaulted them to a 34-7 lead.

Flaherty rushed 13 times for 194 yards and three touchdowns, while Mace added 52 yards with a touchdown on the ground and one TD catch. Asselin finished with two TD passes.

Game 2: Oak Hill 8, Dirigo 6

The Raiders emerged from a muddy Harlow Park with a narrow, sloppy win. Asselin’s touchdown pass to Washburn and Flaherty’s two-point conversion put them on the board midway through the second quarter.  The defense stifled the Cougars until the fourth quarter, when a halfback option pass set Dirigo up a first-and-goal. Three plays later, Dirigo scored on a QB sneak with 23 seconds remaining. The Raiders thwarted the two-point conversion, however, and held on after Dirigo recovered the ensuing onside kick.

Flaherty rushed for 97 hard-earned yards on 25 attempts, while Asselin finished 6-for-11 for 90 yards and two interceptions.

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Game 3: Oak Hill 38, Maranacook 0

The defense showed its might again, limiting Maranacook to three first downs, all in the first half and never allowing the Black Bears past its 30 yard line. Mace led a balanced offense with 225 total yards and two touchdowns in just three quarters of action, while Flaherty rushed for 77 yards and three scores. Asselin had a perfect day, completing all seven of his passing attempts for 174 yards and a touchdown.

Game 4: Winthrop/Monmouth 18, Oak Hill 13

A much-anticipated battle of unbeatens didn’t disappoint as the Ramblers out-lasted the Raiders in one of the most physical games of the year. Oak Hill rallied from deficits of 6-0 and 12-7 to take the lead in a wild first half. After officials awarded the Raiders one untimed down at the end of the half, Asselin scored on a QB sneak to give them a 13-12 lead at intermission. The Ramblers regained the lead for good with 11:32 left, then turned back three Raider marches inside their own 30 to hang on for the win.

Game 5: Old Orchard Beach 22, Oak Hill 21

The Raiders lost their second heartbreaker in a row on an interception in the waning seconds. Trailing 22-7 in the third quarter, they pulled to within a point on Asselin’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Stevens and 12-yard TD run, and were threatening to win when Asselin led them down the field in the two-minute drill. A pass interference call in the end zone set them up inside the Seagulls’ 5, but Tyler Scott stepped in front of an Asselin pass intended for Kyle Tervo in the end zone on the next-to-last play of the game for his second interception on the night.

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Asselin completed 11 of 24 passes for 152 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions and also rushed for 43 yards. Mace ran for 73 yards and Flaherty rushed for the Raiders’ first touchdown.

Game 6: Oak Hill 40, Boothbay 6

A dominating running game helped the Raiders get back on track, despite losing Asselin in the first quarter to a recurring shoulder injury. Flaherty rushed for 177 yards and Mace for 135 yards and three touchdowns apiece, with each finding pay dirt twice in the first half as the Raiders opened a 27-0 lead.

Led by Washburn, Lacroix and Tervo, the defense stayed disciplined against the Seahawks’ double-wing, allowing only a third-quarter touchdown drive.

Game 7: Oak Hill 35, Traip Academy 8

With Asselin still sidelined due to injury, sophomore Dalton Therrien threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score as the Raiders cruised to victory. Therrien hooked up with Mace on a 57-yard screen pass and scored on a 1-yard keeper on back-to-back possessions, helping the Raiders jump out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead.

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Flaherty rushed for 164 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Stevens returned an interception 75 yards for the other score. The defense limited the Rangers to just 57 yards in the first half.

Game 8: Oak Hill 33, Lisbon 14

The Raiders clinched the No. 2 seed in the playoffs with an impressive all-around performance against the rival Greyhounds. Flaherty and Mace combined to account for all but 57 of the offense’s 378 total yards and Asselin returned to the lineup to throw two touchdown passes, a 19-yard toss to Washburn and a 14-yard strike to Stevens. Mace (sack, forced fumble) and Washburn (two sacks, fumble recovery) led a defense that limited Lisbon to just 27 yards in the first half.

Mace ran for a game-high 160 yards and three touchdowns while Flaherty rushed for 156 yards as the Raiders dominated time of possession. Asselin completed four of six passes for 65 yards and capped the Raiders’ seven-minute game-clinching drive in the fourth quarter with his TD throw to Stevens.

Game 9: Oak Hill 41, Boothbay 22

Flaherty led another dominating performance by the running game with 224 yards and two touchdowns as the Raiders advanced to the semifinals. Mace added 108 yards and a score and also threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Stevens on a halfback option.

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Boothbay pulled to within 27-16 in the third quarter on two long touchdown runs, but the Raiders regained control for good on a 25-yard touchdown run by Flaherty and Asselin’s 15-yard TD pass to Washburn.

Game 10: Oak Hill 21, Lisbon 20

The Raiders rallied from a 20-14 deficit late in the fourth quarter to advance to their first championship game in 29 years in an all-time classic.

The Greyhounds came back from a 14-6 deficit to take a six-point lead on a rushing touchdown and two-point conversion with 2:18 to play. Asselin directed the Raiders’ game-winning drive 60 yards in just three plays, a 10-yard pass to Washburn, a 13-yard completion to Mace and a 37-yard touchdown pass to Mace that tied it with 1:29 to go. Adam Merrill’s extra point split the uprights to put the Raiders in front, and Stevens’ interception seal it with 59 seconds remaining.

Game 11: Oak Hill 16, Dirigo 14

The Raiders came up clutch in all three phases of the game to assure their first regional title since 1984.

Merrill broke a 6-6 tie late in the third quarter with a 22-yard field goal, then Asselin and Mace connected on a 27-yard touchdown pass to make it 16-6.

The Cougars closed to within two midway through the fourth quarter on a long touchdown run and two-point conversion. But Oak Hill’s defense, which stymied the Cougars’ wildcat offense most of the afternoon, made a fourth-down stop to keep them from threatening again. The offense, led by Flaherty (34 carries, 194 yard, TD), burned the final 3:24 off the clock as the Raiders avenged last year’s Western C semifinal loss.


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