Giving up a 64-yard quarterback keeper on the second play from scrimmage isn’t there, either. And there’s no evidence that five turnovers are any part of the equation.
Even with all that stacked against Yarmouth, the Clippers’ defense played well enough to win for most of Saturday afternoon before Winslow walked away with its second consecutive Class C title, 24-10, at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
Winslow (11-0) punctuated back-to-back undefeated seasons with its eleventh state championship. The Black Raiders have played in the past four finals.
“It’s incredible going back-to-back, going out as a senior with all the kids I’ve been with since kindergarten,” senior quarterback and defensive back Jake Trask said.
Trask delivered the long run to set up his own 3-yard score. He also picked off Yarmouth quarterback John Thoma twice in the fourth quarter.
Trent Bouchard picked off Thoma and returned it for a 34-yard touchdown, extending Winslow’s tenuous 17-10 halftime lead in a third quarter that saw the Black Raiders held without a first down.
“Sometimes when we go down and score so quickly, you think, ho-hum, things are going to be easy. Things are anything but easy,” Winslow coach Mike Siviski said. “Yarmouth did a fantastic job. Much respect to them.”
Yarmouth (10-1) fell short in the quest for its third Class C title in six seasons. The Clippers were without Cody Cook, who suffered a knee injury in the Southern championship game against Wells.
Thoma completed 18 of 29 for 202 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown to Remi LeBlanc. Winslow cornered the Clippers to 57 rushing yards on 26 attempts.
“We like to run first to set up the pass, but without Cody Cook who gives us that dual threat of run and pass, we tried to run but it just wasn’t there,” Yarmouth coach Jason Veilleux said. “We knew it wouldn’t be. We thought we’d have more success through the air, and we did to a degree.”
Winslow traditionally gets it done on the ground, as was evidenced in a 62-14 thrashing of Leavitt a year ago, and the title defense started no differently.
Trask faked left, kept the ball to the right and saw a green mile open in front of him.
“The line created a huge hole on that play,” Trask said. “I actually didn’t realize it was that big until I started running.”
Yarmouth’s rocky start continued when Kenny Rickard forced a fumble into the hands of Luke Fredette on the Clippers’ initial series.
Joey Fortin and Ricky Tillotson made stops to key a defensive stand, and Yarmouth’s offense settled in on its next sojourn. Thoma’s 23-yard strike to Snyder set up a 33-yard field goal by Andrew Beatty.
“They held our run game down, really,” Siviski said. “Their front did a nice job penetrating. It was a tough, physical game up front.”
Winslow rushed for 210 of its 308 yards in the first half. Nate St. Amand carried 26 times for 157 yards to lead the Black Raiders.
“Our game plan was to keep the ball away from them and play smash mouth,” Siviski said. “They throw the ball so well.”
Trask added 10 for 95, while Rickard added 12 for 68, including a touchdown that made it 14-3 with eight seconds left in the first quarter.
“We got some good things going. Our defense kept us in it the whole time,” Veilleux said. “We couldn’t put it in the end zone when it counted, basically.”
LeBlanc’s juggling catch pulled Yarmouth closer with 8:17 to go in the half. Tillotson made a tackle for loss to stop a Winslow drive at the Clippers’ 18, but the Raiders returned the favor by smothering Lucas Uhl on fourth down.
Trask hit Dylan Hutchinson for gains of 22 and 19, leading to Ryan Gagnon’s 37-yard field goal at the horn.
Yarmouth had two promising second-half drives stuffed inside the 15, foregoing the Beatty field goal on both occasions. Hutchinson and St. Amand threw Snyder for a two-yard loss on fourth-and-2 at the 5 to end the Clippers’ opening possession of the half.
“I’m sure I’ll lose a little sleep after that,” Veilleux said. “We were just trying to get points, get some momentum going for our offense. We needed a little confidence building. We just said we’ll go for it and see what happens. It wasn’t the best play call, though.”
Alec Clark knocked down a fourth-down throw by Thoma midway through the fourth.
“We were just trying to keep blocking and tackling,” Trask said. “Our coaching staff prepared us so good for this game. We stuck with the game plan.”
Veilleux, who quarterbacked Winslow under Siviski as a senior in 1991, worked with his former mentor to help Cook get on the field. He called timeout as the Black Raiders prepared to kneel and run out the clock in the victory formation.
“That’s just out of respect to him,” Veilleux said. “It meant a lot to him to say he played in the game.”
koakes@sunjournal.com
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