WATERVILLE – Waterville racked up 341 yards on the ground and pounded away offensively in defeating the Oak Hill Raiders 50-28 in a Class B football game at Drummond Field on Saturday.
The Raiders (2-3) hung tough through the first half and the first few minutes of the third quarter, thanks in part to a 62-yard scoring pass from quarterback Josh Jillson to Casey Behne and an 85-yard kick off return by Wally Rines, but they had no answers for slowing down the Purple Panthers’ offense.
Playing without starting halfback Tyler Madore and their top two receivers, the Purple Panthers showcased their depth. Junior halfback Mike Bernhardt stepped in and rushed for 176 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries and tight end Finley Allen had three catches for 91 yards and a score.
“They were missing one of their key cogs (Madore),” said Oak Hill coach Bruce Nicholas. “They’re a helluva team. You stop one of them and they’ll go to someone else.”
Waterville (4-1) piled up 28 first downs and totaled 473 yards of total offense.
“Coach called the plays and we just ran them,” said Bernhardt. “The line did an exceptional job of opening holes. It was all them.”
Oak Hill got on the board first on the initial possession of the game. After the Raiders converted a fake punt, Wally Rines zipped over the left side for a 20-yard touchdown run.
After the ensuing kickoff, Bernhardt got the call on second down and fumbled the ball away to the Raiders. It would be the last time the Purple Panther offense would be stopped except for time running out on them at the end of each half.
Allen ignited a 20-point uprising in the second quarter by snaring an 11-yard scoring pass from quarterback Dan Hussey (132 yards passing and 64 yards rushing). Following Behne’s catch and run for a score, Hussey scored from a yard out and Bernhardt tacked on a 4-yard touchdown run off long, clock-eating drives and Waterville led 20-14 at the half.
The third quarter began with Bernhardt shredding the Oak Hill defense for 39 yards on six carries in a 79-yard methodical march to the end zone. Hussey’s 36-yard touchdown run capped the drive.
Rines then fielded the kick off and broke to the left before tip toeing down the sideline for the score to pull the Raiders to within six points again at 28-22, but the Raiders would get no closer.
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