YARMOUTH – The first half didn’t start so well for the Livermore Falls Andies Friday night. The half didn’t end any better.

After giving up a pair of long scoring drives to start the game, the Andies lost their quarterback in the waning moments of the second quarter to a possible concussion.

Somehow, the Andies overcame that adversity, turning a six-point, halftime deficit into a 20-12 victory over the Yarmouth Clippers behind the inspired play of running back Kyle Stebbins and emergency quarterback Shawn Whiting.

Stebbins’ hard-running style ignited the Andies’ offense and resulted in a pair of third-quarter scores. Whiting, meanwhile, was nearly flawless with no time to prepare, and coupled with a steady rain, made the field conditions sloppy at best. Last year he was the Andies’ JV quarterback, but hadn’t had any time at the position this fall.

“He hadn’t taken a snap all season,” said Livermore Falls coach Brad Bishop when talking about Whiting. “He didn’t make a mistake. He fumbled the snap once, but the ball was wet.”

Livermore Falls (3-1) came out exploding off the line to start the third quarter. Runs of 10, 15 and 27 yards up the gut by Stebbins (18 carries for 131 yards) helped moved the ball to the Yarmouth 6. From there, Stebbins burst up the middle and made it to the end zone standing up.

On the ensuing possession by the Clippers (0-4), quarterback Eric Estabrook threw a pass over the middle and right into the chest of Stebbins who returned it three yards to the Yarmouth 23. Three plays later Stebbins went for a 10-yard score on an inside trap.

“Guard trap is my favorite play,” said Stebbins. “The line always opens that up.”

Yarmouth, which had rushed for 164 yards in the first half, put together a final drive late in the fourth quarter. Taking over at their own 49 after the fumble by Whiting at the five-minute mark, the Clippers converted three fourth downs into firsts. A swing pass from Estabrook to fullback Colin Simsarian went for 10 yards to the Andie 39. Then it was Simsarian (28 carries for 148 yards) barreling over the right end for seven. A keeper by Estabrook moved the ball to the 20 with just 21 ticks left on the clock.

Two plays later, Estabrook’s desperation heave to the front of the end zone was batted down as time ran out.

“We got out of here alive,” said a relieved Bishop. “They were beating us at the point of attack. They’re tough. We got out of here with a win on a lousy night against a good team.”

The Clippers hit the scoreboard twice in the first quarter. A 57-yard drive to start the game culminated in a Simsarian 1-yard run which was followed up by a Nathaniel Pingitore 6-yard score.

The Andies cut the lead in half on a 52-yard run off tackle by Chandler White (12-107) late in the first quarter.

But the second half belonged to Stebbins and the Andies.

“If (Stebbins) hadn’t wanted to win so bad,” said Yarmouth coach Jim Hartman, “we would have won. He just willed that team to win. They jumped on his back and he carried them.”