YARMOUTH – Early in the second half Friday night, running back Josh Allen of Oak Hill shouted to his teammates.

“Now that’s the way we should sound,” he said, talking about the crack of Yarmouth’s shoulder pads as the Clippers delivered another hard hit.

Additional Photos

Billy Clabby of Yarmouth breaks away from Craig Morrill of Oak Hill on a second-quarter run Friday night. It set up the Clippers second touchdown in what became a 28-7 victory in a Western Class C semifinal. Yarmouth will meet Winthrop or Lisbon, who play today. Photos by Tim Greenway/Staff Photographer

Craig Morrill of Oak Hill gets a step on Anders Overhaug of Yarmouth to haul in a first-quarter pass Friday night. Morrill also caught a 73-yard pass in the third quarter his team s only score as Yarmouth came away with a 28-7 victory at home.

Allen couldn’t rally his team, nor could Oak Hill emulate the sound of those crunching hits.

Top-ranked Yarmouth simply had too much for the fifth-seeded Raiders and advanced to its second consecutive Western Class C final with a 28-7 victory.

Yarmouth will be home next Saturday against the winner of today’s Winthrop-Lisbon game.

The Clippers lost to Dirigo, the eventual state champion, in last year’s regional final.

The Clippers (10-0) got two touchdowns apiece from workhorse speedsters Anders Overhaug and Nate Pingitore.

Yarmouth stopped the Raiders twice on fourth-down plays in the first two quarters.

Oak Hill (5-5) came up a yard short of the goal line on a fourth-down run by Allen, then had a fourth-and-8 that was stuffed by the Clippers on the Yarmouth 21.

Defense, special teams and the 1-2 punch of Overhaug and Pingitore proved too much.

Even though the Clippers came in as the highest-scoring team in the state at just under 50 points per game, they beat Oak Hill by just 20-15 in the second game of the season, so the possibility was there for another close game.

And it might have been closer had the Raiders converted their opportunities.

“If we had been able to convert one of our chances in the first half, it might have been a different game,” said Oak Hill Coach Dave Wing.

“We might have been able to put them on their heels a little bit. Giving up a touchdown just before the half really hurt. Yarmouth has a lot of speed and deception in the backfield, but we didn’t tackle well.”

The Clippers capitalized on special teams, their season- long strength.

“The keys to the game were our stops and the punt returns with Dennis Erving,” said Yarmouth Coach Jim Hartman. “All season long the special teams have set things up for us.”

After the Clippers stopped Oak Hill on its first series, a long punt return by Erving gave Yarmouth the ball on the Oak Hill 29.

Four plays later, Overhaug, the team’s leading rusher, scored on a counter play from the 15.

The counter, sometimes with a double handoff, produced several important plays for the Clippers.

Just before halftime, Overhaug went 36 yards on a counter to the Oak Hill 12, then scored on another counter on the next play with 40 seconds remaining in the half to stretch Yarmouth’s lead to 14-0.

“It’s been our go-to play this season on long-yardage downs,” said Overhaug.

“The line opened some great holes and our defensive line held them down.”

The Clippers made it 21-0 early in the third quarter on a 30-yard run by Pingitore.

The Raiders scored their only touchdown on a 73-yard pass from quarterback Cameron Morin to Craig Morrill with 1:41 remaining in the third quarter. Morrill caught a quick slant and outraced the defense.

Pingitore scored from the 1 on the second play of the fourth quarter to seal it.

Yarmouth did a good job containing Allen, the Raiders’ top threat.

The Clippers hurt themselves with four holding penalties, but it wasn’t enough to make a difference.

But it could make a difference in the next round, and Hartman cautioned his team about the mistakes after the game.

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at: tchard@pressherald.com

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