LISBON — There was a little bit extra in the Lisbon football team’s film study as the Greyhounds prepared for Oak Hill and the Class D South semifinals.
They watched video of their game with the Raiders from earlier this season. But they also watched film from last year — a 7-0 overtime loss to Oak Hill in the 2018 regional quarterfinals.
“Our coach kept saying to us, ‘Does this look like a team that we should have lost to?’ ” running back Cam Bourget said. “It was definitely a big motivator.”
Lisbon’s Seth Leeman, left and Robbie Dick celebrate after Leeman’s second touchdown against Oak Hill in a Class D South semifinal game Saturday in Lisbon. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal Buy this Photo
Lisbon made sure the story went differently Saturday. Seth Leeman ran 10 times for 188 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half, and Greyhound ballcarriers battered the Oak Hill front for 411 yards on a whopping 61 carries in a 48-20 victory.
Lisbon improved to 6-3 and will play for the regional title at Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale on Saturday. Oak Hill finished 5-5.
“I know how that loss felt last year, playing and starting,” said Bourget, who ran for 67 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. “And now coming back and putting it to them this year, it feels great.”
Lisbon coach Chris Kates, however, pointed beyond last year. After losing home playoff games in back-to-back seasons, the Greyhounds wanted to make a final statement on their own turf.
“I think it was really important for these kids to come out and win a home playoff game,” he said. “They took it really seriously to come out here and establish the run game, and I’m happy with the way they performed.”
The game looked nothing like the loss last season, during which Lisbon’s offense couldn’t finish drives in the muddy, soupy conditions.
“I watched (Lucas Francis) fall on that ball (after a muffed snap in overtime) last year, and it broke my heart,” senior guard and defensive end Daniel Bolton said. “It means a lot to me right now.”
It also looked nothing like the first matchup between the teams, a 16-13 Lisbon win that saw the Greyhounds pick up the pace late after a scoreless first half.
“We executed a little bit better,” Kates said. “We cleaned some things up throughout the bye week, and we had two solid weeks of practice. That was the biggest thing for us.”
Another close battle seemed to be forming early, as Leeman broke through the Oak Hill defense for a 33-yard touchdown run, only for Raiders quarterback Gavin Rawstron (15 carries, 81 yards, two touchdowns) to make it 7-6 two plays after a Lisbon turnover with a 6-yard touchdown run with 3.3 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Greyhounds, though, kept coming. A 1-yard run by Justin Le (14 carries, 47 yards, two touchdowns) made it 13-6 with 10:54 left in the quarter, and on the next Lisbon series, Leeman ran a counter right and sprinted through the defense again, this time for a 69-yard score and a 20-6 lead with 9:05 to go.
After Bourget finished a 12-play, 69-yard drive with a 3-yard run, it was Leeman yet again, this time racing 74 yards for a 34-13 advantage with 1:46 left in the half.
“It kind of threw them off-guard, and the holes were wide-open,” Leeman said. “I’ve got to give a shoutout to my linemen, shoutout to my receivers. I just had to hit the hole, and it was smooth (sailing) into the end zone.”
Lisbon’s Nick Blair, left, bears down on Oak Hill quarterback Gavin Rawstron during a Class D South semifinal game Saturday in Lisbon. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal Buy this Photo
Lisbon opened the second half with another methodical drive, this one taking 14 plays, going 63 yards and finishing with Le’s run from a yard out. After Le forced a fumble on the next Oak Hill series, it was reserve back Nick Blair scoring on a 12-yard run to make it 48-13 with 9:34 to play.
“It’s nice to have a little power inside with Cam and Justin, and obviously Daytona (McIver, 74 yards on 11 carries) and Seth are fast on the outside,” Kates said. “It definitely helps us to be a little more unpredictable, and we were able to kind of feature that a little bit today.”
Rawstron rounded out the scoring with an 11-yard run with 2:43 to play. He also had a 78-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that made it 27-13 with 3:05 left in the first half, and briefly restored hope on the Raiders’ sideline.
Leeman’s 74-yard run three plays later, however, killed the momentum.
“I think their age and their strength (made the difference),” Oak Hill coach Stacen Doucette said. “They had a very good gameplan, they did a very good job.”
Doucette tipped his cap after the loss.
“I don’t know that it was necessarily (us) struggling,” he said. “I think Lisbon’s pretty good.”
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