FREEPORT — A late touchdown gave Oak Hill/St. Dom has the choice to go for the draw or go for the win. The Raiders went for the win.
After Braden Dubuc connected with Isaac “Iggy” Graham on a long touchdown pass with 1 minute, 37 seconds left, Dubuc then found Kaiden Delano on the two-point conversion that gave the Raiders a 22-21 win over Freeport in Friday’s Class D South football quarterfinal.
Fifth-seeded Oak Hill (6-3) will face No. 1 Wells (8-0) in the regional semifinals next weekend. Wells won 50-21 in the teams’ only regular season meeting on Oct. 4.
With Oak Hill/St. With Dom’s season on the line, coach Chad Stowell said he decided to go for the 2-point conversion instead of kicking a PAT because the Raiders defensive line “had a hard time stopping the Falcons for most of the game” .
“I didn’t really want to give (the Falcons) the ball for a chance to score the equalizer,” Stowell said. “We’ve been riding Kaiden for a long time, and we thought this would be another one, and he came through.”
Freeport (5-4), the fourth seed, took a 21-14 lead when quarterback Teddy Peters found Ben Bolduc on a 15-yard touchdown pass with 3:20 left in the game.
Oak Hill responded quickly. Graham caught a 38-yard touchdown catch on what he called a “perfect pass” up the middle from Dubuc.
“I just knew the ball was coming to me,” Graham said. “I knew I had to make a big play, so I did my best and it was just a perfect ball. Props to the quarterback.”
Graham wasn’t done yet. On Freeport’s next drive, he intercepted a pass attempt at the Oak Hill 42-yard line to send the Raiders to the regional final.
“It just felt great,” Graham said of the interception. “I was just shocked that I even got it. He gave a tip (and) I just dove right over.
Stowell said he “had a feeling” Graham would perform for the Raiders on Friday.
“Man, I mean, that was a big throw and a big catch – a tough catch – all the way down the middle of the field, and then the touchdown, to intercept to kind of top it off,” Stowell said. “(Graham) played big, he’s a great athlete. Sometimes he gets overlooked on this team, with Kaiden and PJ (Smith) and our defense, our offensive line, but he’s one of the better receivers out there. He showed that today.”
Dubuc finished with 70 yards on 4-for-7 passing, while Graham rushed for 61 yards and 26 receiving.
Delano, who ran for 145 yards and caught a TD pass, said the win felt great, especially considering the Raiders were playing from behind or tied the entire game until his two-point conversion after Graham’s touchdown.
“It definitely feels great to be down at the start and to be down again in the deep fourth, and to keep my line and my team up in a time of so much need, it’s just amazing,” said Delano, a senior. . “They kept blocking, they kept making huge holes for me to slip through.
“We just had to do our job and execute,” Delano added, “A playoff game is always going to be different than the regular season. Everyone is doing their best and the outcome of the game will be very different than you might think. We just had to come play our game and do our best, and this was the result.”
Peters ran for 120 yards, including touchdowns of 10 and 4 yards, for Freeport. He also went 3-for-9.
“The young man is the hardest-working player on this team,” Freeport coach Paul St. Pierre said. “We wouldn’t even be in this position if it weren’t for some of the individual, courageous performances he put in all year, and the work he put in in the offseason. He’s a leader, he’s our best player. I am very proud of him.”
Bolduc finished with 75 yards rushing. St. Pierre said the senior “probably had the best game of the season” on Friday. After Peters left the game late in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury, Bolduc took over at quarterback.
“He walked his ass off, very proud of that young man, and then he stepped in at the very end at quarterback, and he almost got us within field goal range,” St. Pierre said. “I am definitely proud of the effort he put in until the end.”
Stowell said he knew Freeport would be a tough opponent.
“Freeport came out and they looked like they had a little more physicality and a little more drive and emotion than us,” he said. “We’ve had some bouncy games this year, we’ve had a few one-point losses so it’s nice to get a one-point win.”
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