The Raiders struggled from the start of the Class D state game Saturday and found themselves trailing by seven with their backs against the end zone. That’s when quarterback Dalton Therrien walked into the huddle and told his Raiders they were in familiar territory.

“At practice, the ball always gets put on the 1-yard line and we work out of that,” Therrien said. “I walked into the huddle and the told the guys, ‘What do we always do in practice? It’s just like practice.’”

Oak Hill not only escaped its predicament, but also settled down. The Raiders played with more authority the running game they established on that drive carried Oak Hill to another Class D state title.

“We’ve been in these situations before,” Oak Hill coach Stacen Doucette said. “We practice it every week. We just came out strong and everyone believed in each other.”

That possession led to an 80-yard touchdown run by Alex Mace to tie the game. From there, the Raiders’ confidence grew,and it was positive affirmation that they were back in the game.

“It gave everyone more confidence,” Mace said. “We knew we were a better team than that.”

Oak Hill got an 11-yard run from Mace to take off the pressure and give the Raiders a first down at the 11. After a Kyle Flaherty run for five yards and another Mace carry for three, Mace broke one long down the right side for the tying touchdown with 1:54 left in the first quarter.

“Our line worked hard,” Therrien said. “They knew they were in for a battle. Then our running backs were good enough to make something happen.”

Being backed up at the 1 was only part of a less-than-wonderful start for the Raiders. The defending Class D champions were unexpectedly sloppy early on, and it took some time for the Raiders to right themselves before taking over Saturday’s title game.

“I don’t know if you can start a game any worse than that,” Doucette said. “To the kids’ credit, we turned it around. We made a couple of big plays. Dalton Therrien made a couple of big plays early.”

On the first play from scrimmage to start the game, Oak Hill couldn’t even get a play off. A player was late coming onto the field and a hastily called timeout followed. On the second attempt, the Raiders drew a procedure penalty and were already backed up before a snap was made.

“It was a little scary at first,” Mace said. “Then everyone got their heads together. We started making plays and then we got more confident.”

The Raiders moved the ball  on that drive but watched it stall at midfield. An attempt at a fake punt for Flaherty fell short. That set up MCI at the 46.

The Huskies took that prime field position and ran it right at the Raider defense. Jonathan Santiago rushed for nearly 40 yards and a 10-yard pass play to Austin Tolman capped off the drive.

Down 7-0, Oak Hill’s next possession went nowhere. It included a fumbled snap that led to a 20-yard loss. The Raiders punted it away two plays later

Though Oak Hill stopped MCI and forced a punt on the Huskies’ next possession, the Raiders started its next possession at the 1. Tolman downed the ball there on a punt.

Doucette said he didn’t have to tell his kids anything in that moment. What he told them in the past was enough.

“I had told them that at moments like that, their work ethic would kick in,” Doucette said.

Being in the state game a year ago gave these Raiders something to fall back on. Oak Hill regrouped and maintained its composure.

“We’ve definitely been here before,” Therrien said. “We just played a great game together. There was not one time where we looked at each other and said, ‘What are we going to do?’ We kept our heads together through the entire game until the final buzzer.”

MCI took the lead again early in the second half, but Oak Hill answered right back. Therrien connected with Kyle Tervo on a 55-yard pass play that gave the Raiders a 14-13 lead with 7:31 left in the half.

“We were just a little bit nervous, that’s all,” Therrien said. “We knew if we could come together that the game wasn’t done. We were going to make it through. There’s no quit in this team. We’re always going to work through it.”

kmills@sunjournal.com

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