OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Even after losing to Winthrop/Monmouth by three touchdowns and Lisbon by a fistful of scores, Old Orchard Beach never lost faith that it could compete with the elite teams in Western Class D football.
Hey, the Seagulls hear you snickering. They got the last laugh Friday evening with a season-saving, 22-21 triumph over Oak Hill that wasn’t settled until Tyler Scott intercepted a pass in the end zone on the next-to-last play at Joe Regina Field.
Oak Hill stopped OOB on downs at the Raiders’ 29 with 1:57 remaining and drove in 11 quick-hit plays to the Seagulls 8. A pass interference call in the end zone moved the ball half the distance closer.
Parker Asselin took the next snap and lofted the ball toward Kyle Tervo in the back right corner of the end zone. Scott, a junior who ran a similar pattern for a touchdown catch and two successful two-point conversions earlier in the game, earned position, turned toward the ball and put the game on his fingers.
“We knew it was make-or-break on the last play,” Scott said. “I saw the ball, went for it and took it out of the air.”
It was the second interception of the night deep in Raiders territory for Scott, who did not play in OOB’s 42-7 loss at Lisbon six days earlier.
Both teams are 3-2 after the Raiders’ furious comeback fell short.
“They’ve got some great athletes on their side,” Oak Hill coach Stacen Doucette said. “We didn’t quit. We practice those situations. We just didn’t execute at the end.”
Oak Hill trailed 22-6 before Parker Asselin’s 21-yard pass to Ryan Stevens, followed by his own sensational second-effort on the two-point rush with 3:38 remaining in the third.
Asselin ran 12 yards for the potential tying or go-ahead score on the first play of the fourth quarter. With all the momentum going its way, Oak Hill elected to go for two, but Hunter Boutot shot the gap for one of his three sacks of Asselin on the night.
Three ensuing OOB possessions unfolded without a first down and furnished Oak Hill’s opportunity. Asselin scrambled 11 and 17 yards to move the chains and found Stevens for 21 yards and Tervo for seven to convert a pair of third downs.
Tervo’s catch-and-run ended at the 7 before Boutot knocked back Asselin for a 1-yard loss. Then came the interference call after the Seagulls attempted to defend a quick slant to Alex Mace.
“It was probably the most intense drive anybody on the team has ever dealt with in their life,” Boutot said. “My heart has never raced more than that, right there.”
“Asselin is a … good quarterback,” OOB coach Dean Plante added. “If I had to pick one quarterback I didn’t want running a two-minute drill against us, it was him.”
Scott’s interception was the Seagulls’ third of the night against Asselin (11-for-24, 152 yards passing; 10 carries for 43 yards rushing).
Joe Gildard ran back the other one 55 yards for a touchdown in the final minute of the first half. The second of Scott’s PAT catches from Bryan Roberts made it a 16-7 Seagulls lead at the half.
Buoyed by Gildard’s 28-yard scamper, OOB also scored on its opening series of the second half. Roberts floated a pass over the Oak Hil defender that Scott caught at the end of a wheel route for a 15-yard score.
“We started slow, and when you play against good teams you need to start strong,” Doucette said. “We have to get better, and we’re going to get better.”
Oak Hill scored on a 11-play, 66-yard drive after the opening kickoff, capped by Kyle Flaherty’s 14-yard run up the gut. But the rest of the first half produced two punts, two turnovers and another series stopped on downs at the OOB 23.
Gildard got OOB started by hauling in a 45-yard pass from Roberts. Oak Hill missed a tackle at the line of scrimmage, and Scott’s block set Gildard free down the visiting sideline with 4:13 left in the half.
“It means a lot. It was a tough week last week. Lisbon’s a great team,” Scott said. “Coaches told us this week was make-or-break. We knew Oak Hill coming in off a loss was going to be tough. We fought hard.”
Mace rushed for 51 of his 73 yards in the second half to help Asselin resuscitate the Raiders’ offense.
OOB held on despite being held to three first downs and 74 net yards in the second half.
“We talked Monday. We said that (Lisbon) game can’t define who we are,” Plante said. “As coaches we knew this was going to be a huge game. Win or lose, you want a chance to compete four quarters against a top-notch team.”
koakes@sunjournal.com
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