Oak Hill’s Samuel Lindsay, left nearly intercepts a pass intended for Poland’s Isaiah Hill during the first half of Saturday’s football game in Wales. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal)
WALES — There’s football tired, and then there’s football tired after putting up 51 points and over 500 yards of total offense on a pleasant Saturday afternoon.
Gavin Rawstron, Sam Lindsay and the Oak Hill Raiders reveled in the latter in a 51-23 win over Poland.
Rawstron, a sophomore, completed 13 of 17 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns and rushed 12 times for 101 yards and two more TDs to lead a Raider offense that racked up 506 yards.
Lindsay hauled in four passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score. Caleb Treadwell had the other touchdown reception and Quentin Pelkey also had a rushing touchdown for the Raiders (3-3).
Rawstron completed passes of 43, 80 and 60 yards to Lindsay in the first half. The 80-yarder was the only one that wasn’t a touchdown, but it did set up a three-yard TD pass to Treadwell. Liam Rodrigue was also at the other end of a couple of passes and also kicked a 35-yard field goal in the second half.
“Each game, our receiving group gets better,” Oak Hill coach Stacen Doucette said. “Each game we get more consistent. We’re looking for consistency, not necessarily big plays.”
Rawstron was 6-for-10 for 218 yards and all three TDs in the first half. Many of those completions came with him on the move, either by design or necessity.
“They’re a little of both,” Rawstron said. “We have a lot of plays for me to roll out, choose a run-pass option and have Sam in one-on-one coverage. They’re designed, pretty much, but there were a few times it broke down and there were good adjustments on both ends.”
“It really helps out when a play might be busted having a really aware quarterback knowing that you might be open downfield,” Lindsay said.
Rawstron also rushed for both of his touchdowns in the first half, from 35 and five yards. The former may have been his most spectacular play of the day, spinning off of a couple of tacklers on his way to the end zone.
Passing and rushing, he accounted for 301 of Oak Hill’s 338 yards in the half as it jumped out to a 28-0 lead that stood at 34-15 at halftime.
“I was really hoping our guys would come out and rise to the occasion, however, they didn’t,” Poland coach Spencer Emerson said. “I got outcoached, we got outworked and ultimately they outplayed us.”
“That’s a very well-coached, unbelievably tough group (for Oak Hill),” Emerson added. “The Rawstron kid is talented. (Lindsay) is talented). (Treadwell) can really run. (Rodrigue) can catch the ball. They’re a very good football team.”
Poland (2-4) got on the board with Isaiah Hill’s 86-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and added a Tyler Tucci five-yard touchdown run late in the first half. Joe Ringuette had a 25-yard touchdown run in the second half.
The Knights tallied 249 yards of total offense, led by Tucci’s 84 yards on 14 carries, but never really found a rhythm in the passing game.
“I think some stuff was there early, but we missed it,” Emerson said. “Once we missed it early, by the time we kind of figured it out, their coverage got a little better because they made some adjustments and then they brought some pressure. The quarterback missed some throws, receivers dropped some passes and we didn’t really click.”
With a big lead, Oak Hill mostly showcased its running game in the second half, with Lindsay and Pelkey reaching the end zone. Rawstron stuck mostly with the short passing game, but was still on point, completing all seven attempts.
“It’s the fact that we have so much chemistry and teamwork that makes it work really well, like a well-oiled machine,” Lindsay said. “It’s just really nice that we all work together to spread the ball around. We have a lot of different players that are good for different stuff.”
Oak Hill’s Caleb Treadwell celebrates after making a spetactular catch in the end zone for a touchdown during Saturday’s game against Poland. (Russ Dillilngham/Sun Journal)
Oak Hill’s Ethan Richard, left, and Samuel Lindsay, right, knock facemasks as they sandwitch Poland quarterback Isaiah Hill in the backfield for a loss during the first half of Saturday’s football game in Wales. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal)
Oak Hill’s James Borkowski Jr., right moves in to dive on a loose ball after Poland quarterback Brady Downing, middle, fumbled and eventually dove on the bouncing ball and managed to keep retain possession. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal)
Oak Hill quarterback Gavin Rawstron fires a pass downfield over the head of Poland defenders for a long completion during Saturday’s game. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal)
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