YARMOUTH – Running back Anders Overhaug remembers watching Yarmouth’s first varsity football game.

Looking back at the 2007 opener, Overhaug can sum up that game — a one-sided loss — in one statement.

“It was just crushing.”

How things have changed.

Overhaug scored two touchdowns and ran for 119 yards Friday night as the Clippers opened their fourth varsity season by beating Old Orchard Beach 60-7 in a Western Class C game.

Overhaug, a junior, can describe this year’s opener in much better terms.

“It was great for us,” Overhaug said. “It really helped our team’s confidence.”

The Clippers took a 13-0 lead in the first nine minutes, then cracked open the game in the second quarter with four touchdowns, two by freshman quarterback Brady Neujahr.

“It’s important to take control of every quarter,” said Yarmouth running back Nick Proscia, who had 11 carries for 101 yards, all in the first half, and went 6 for 7 on point-after kicks. “Every quarter’s a battle and every play’s a battle. We kept doing what our coaches told us and they told us to open it up.

Old Orchard cut Yarmouth’s early lead to 13-7 with 1:05 left in the first quarter on Ryan Gallant’s 86-yard touchdown reception from Cam Madden, followed by Gallant’s point-after kick, but it was the only bright spot in the first half for the Seagulls.

In those first 24 minutes, Old Orchard took seven penalties for 50 yards, fumbled three times (all recovered by the Seagulls), notched only two first downs and had negative-12 yards rushing.

“We (were close) after the first (quarter) and we want to build on that,” Old Orchard Coach Dean Plante said.

“We made a lot of mental mistakes tonight, and (Yarmouth), they’re good, give them their due. But we made the mental mistakes to make them even better.

“We were at 13-7 and we had them pinned.”

After Gallant’s touchdown, the Clippers scored four second-quarter touchdowns to take a 40-7 halftime lead.

“We couldn’t let them come back in the second half,” Overhaug said. “We had to keep pressing it. We came out hitting hard.”

The Clippers added a pair of third-quarter touchdowns, a 63-yard run by Overhaug just 50 seconds into the half and a 10-yard run by Nate Pingitore with 5:09 left. They finished the scoring in the fourth on Bryce Snyder’s 50-yard run after the Clippers had two touchdowns waved off by penalties.

“OOB’s always a good opponent and they hit us,” Proscia said. “And we expected to get hit. It was a tough game and we didn’t know what was going to happen, but we just played hard.”

Staff Writer Rachel Lenzi can be reached at 791-6415 or at:

rlenzi@pressherald.com