YARMOUTH — After the echo of the first five or six shoulder-to-collar hits subsided Friday evening, Leavitt recognized there wouldn’t be any shame if new conference rival Yarmouth pulled off the upset.

Shame, no. Frustration, no doubt.

“Playing on the road, you’re going to face adversity. Things aren’t always going to go your way,” Leavitt senior defensive back Clay Rowland said. “You’ve just got to strap it up and play the next play.”

And Leavitt made enough of those plays to survive. First, Nate Rousseau’s 3-yard run and Nate Coombs’ point-after rush supplied a lead with 10:04 remaining. Then late interceptions by Rowland and Levi Morin capped a mostly sensational night for the defense in a 14-7 Western Class C football victory.

Playing on the road on artificial turf for the second straight week to start the season, Leavitt (2-0) battled an early 5 p.m. starting time due to Yom Kippur and a heavy rain that fell most of the game.

Not to mention that the Clippers — Class C champions in 2010 and 2011 — looked the part of a fellow championship contender in what is thought to be a tougher league for them, overall, after reclassification.

Yarmouth (1-1) flew to the ball defensively and used its perimeter speed on offense to build a surprising 7-6 halftime lead.

“I think we proved one thing. I think we proved Yarmouth’s a pretty darn good football team in this new conference,” Yarmouth coach Chris Pingitore said. “We knew what we were up against, but I wasn’t surprised that we came out and took the lead. We play with speed and we play hard. “

Matt Woodbury, who made more than a dozen tackles, recovered a fumble at the Leavitt 33 to set up the Clippers’ score. Thomas Lord barreled in from a yard out with 8:02 left. Ben Still booted the extra point.

Leavitt answered promptly, with twin 23-yard runs by Adam Poulin and Nate Rousseau setting the table for a 2-yard plunge by Coombs. The PAT fell short with 5:43 to go.

“I thought we had a good tempo that drive,” Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway said. “I actually thought we moved the ball pretty well with the no-huddle early in the game, but fumbles hurt us on a couple of drives. As the half wore on, they definitely had the field position. It kind of affects your play calls, especially in the rain.”

Noah Colby-George also scooped up a first-half fumble for the Clippers. Conor O’Malley later returned the favor, recovering a bad Yarmouth exchange for Leavitt.

Coombs’ interception and a three-and-out to close the half strengthened the Leavitt defense’s resolve.

“We knew in conditions like this, one more score was basically going to win the game for us,” Morin said. “We just had to stop them on defense. We had to tighten up stuff up front. We got good field position one time, and that was the key.”

“At halftime we said that if we can punch one in, we have faith in our defense to hold up and not let another one in,” Coombs added. “We stuck together and we did that.”

Leavitt took over at its own 48 late in the third quarter. Coombs exploded for 26 yards on the second play of the fourth, alertly covering his own bobble to preserve the series.

O’Malley ran for nine on the next play to set up two short runs by Rousseau, the second for a score.

“Once we got the lead back, we felt like they couldn’t drive the whole field on us,” Hathaway said.

Leavitt limited Yarmouth to two first downs in the second half.

Rowland picked off Brady Neujahr’s slant pass and returned it 30 yards with four minutes to go.

Yarmouth stopped Leavitt on downs at the 23. The Clippers moved the chains once before a 15-yard penalty for a chop block sent them reeling. Morin stepped in the way of a throw over the middle on second-and-27 to ice it.

“The mystery is that we’ve never played them,” Pingitore said. “With teams you’ve played in the past, you understand their adjustments. Going in cold feet was exciting, but it’s a challenge.”

O’Malley (57 yards), Coombs (56) and Rousseau (54) shared the load on the ground for the Hornets, who held the Clippers to 133 total yards.

“They certainly came to play. We knew all week it was going to be a tough battle with them,” Morin said. “They’re fast. They come off the ball really well. It wasn’t our best game. We came out pretty flat in the beginning.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

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