YARMOUTH — A 37-yard field goal by Andrew Beatty with 2:16 left kept Yarmouth’s undefeated season intact and carried the Clippers to a 17-14 victory over Wells in the Class C South football championship on Saturday.

Yarmouth (11-0), the No. 1 seed, advances to the state championship against Winslow (10-0) next Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.

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Wells, the No. 3 seed, finished at 8-3.

The Clippers erased an early 14-0 deficit, thanks to a pair of second-quarter touchdowns by Jack Snyder.

Yarmouth started its winning drive from its own 32 with 3:58 remaining.

After an 11-yard pass from John Thoma to Snyder, Snyder took a direct snap and raced all the way to the end zone. An illegal block downfield negated the touchdown, but the Clippers still gained 25 yards on the play.

Snyder took another direct snap on the next play and picked up 11 yards to the 21.

The Wells defense tightened up after that and forced a fourth-down decision for Yarmouth. Coach Jason Veilleux called on Beatty to try to break the tie.

“I just went out there with nothing on my mind, knowing that I practiced all week, knowing that I was confident with myself,” said Beatty.

Snyder said the rest of the team was equally confident.

“I was completely relaxed; I knew (Beatty) was going to get it done,” said Snyder. “He’s almost automatic when we give him the right blocking.

“He’s one of the best kickers in Maine.”

Wells still had enough time to respond, though, and the Warriors quickly drive down the field as Owen Berry hit Jordan Cluff for gains of 25 and 28 yards. The 28-yarder was a one-handed diving grab that put Wells at the Yarmouth 21 with 1:48 remaining.

The Warriors could get no closer, though, and turned the ball over on downs with 1:14 left.

Wells jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, on two touchdown runs by Reid Chase.

Chase finished with 91 yards on 12 carries.

“(Chase) has been banged up (all year),” said Wells Coach Tim Roche. “(He) played on a torn ACL the whole year. We didn’t tell anyone, but that’s a tough kid.”

Yarmouth’s Cody Cook, a senior captain and one of the Clippers’ best players, sustained an apparent knee injury on the kickoff after Chase’s second touchdown. Cook tried to limp off the field but fell to the ground near the sideline.

Moments later, the Clippers got a much-needed spark from one of their other captains, Snyder.

On third-and-16 from the Yarmouth 18, Snyder got behind the defense as Thoma lofted a deep ball, hitting Snyder in stride for an 82-yard touchdown.

Both head coaches called the play a huge turning point.

“We had to have that (big touchdown play) in order to get the guys believing that it’s not over,” said Veilleux.

“I think it zapped some of the energy out (of us),” said Roche.

Thoma completed 8 of 22 pass attempts for 137 yards, with two interceptions.

“It wasn’t a great passing game today, but we had it when we had to have it,” said Veilleux.

Yarmouth tied the game five minutes into the second quarter on a 7-yard run by Snyder off a direct snap.

Snyder finished with 148 total yards, including 115 receiving.

Now Yarmouth will start preparing for a showdown with Winslow, the defending state champion. For Veilleux, a 1992 Winslow graduate, it’s a chance to match wits with his former coach, Mike Siviski.

“It’s a unique experience,” said Veilleux. “The idea that I’m actually going against (Siviski) now is a surreal thing. But I’m hoping we can keep it focused on the kids.”

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