WINSLOW — For three quarters, Winslow and Yarmouth traded mistakes, and Yarmouth stayed in the game despite Winslow’s sizable advantage in offensive yardage. Eventually, as it often happens, the dominance of Winslow’s offensive line won out.

The Black Raiders gained 397 yards from scrimmage, and nearly had three 100-yard rushers. Winslow pulled away in the fourth quarter and chalked up a 34-8 Campbell Conference Class C victory at Poulin Field.

“All the props go to the linemen,” said Winslow’s Joe Hopkins, who rushed for 155 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries. “The biggest holes that I’ve ever seen were there. You have to be something to not be able to hit those holes.”

Dylan Hapworth added 102 yards on six carries, and Zach Guptill fought for 95 yards on 18 rushes. The Black Raiders moved to 4-1 with the win, while Yarmouth dropped to 1-4.

“We’re trying to do weekly improvement,” Winslow coach Mike Siviski said. “Our first few games were a mess. A lot of kids contributed today. We’re pretty happy. Our league is pretty tough. It’s almost like top to bottom, anybody can beat anybody.”

Winslow moved the ball on nearly every drive in the first half, and led 7-0 when Hapworth squirmed out of two tackles at the line and went 70 yards for the score. But a few minutes later, Yarmouth quarterback Brady Neujahr kept the ball on an option play and went 59 yards to give the Clippers an 8-7 lead.

Advertisement

The Raiders gradually got the momentum back by tilting the field. Over the second and third quarters, the two teams combined to run 64 plays from scrimmage. Of those 64, six were run on Winslow’s half of the field.

Winslow went up 15-8 at the half on a 15-yard run by Hopkins. In the second half, after an interception by Justin Martin, the Raiders switched quarterbacks from Bobby Chenard to Adam Pelletier.

Pelletier is a different type of quarterback than Chenard — shorter, lighter, more elusive as a runner — and he made an immediate impact on his first play with a perfectly-timed option pitch to Hopkins, who went the rest of the way for a 40-yard touchdown run.

Pelletier also played the next series, which ended with Winslow losing the ball on downs. Chenard then returned to the game.

“He’s quick. He’s got good feet,” Siviski said of Pelletier. “We could explore that in the future.”

Yarmouth drove to the Winslow 26, but lost the ball on a fourth-down sack by Winslow end TJ Mitchell. In the fourth quarter, Guptill plowed over for a 3-yard run and, after Winslow recovered Yarmouth’s fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Hopkins dashed 39 yards on the next play for another score.

Advertisement

Yarmouth lost fullback Matt Klepinger, apparently to a broken arm. Coach Chris Pingatore said of the team’s 32 players, four had varsity experience before this season. The Clippers lost four fumbles in the second half.

“We’re a young team, learning, but they play tough,” Pingatore said. “I thought we were in it for almost three quarters. Sometimes it’s an issue of trying too hard. You make a mistake, you get a penalty. That kind of steamrolls and it starts to cost you.”

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.