OOB close ’til the end

DIXFIELD — In a game played closer than the score appeared, Old Orchard Beach High School lost to the Dirigo Cougars Saturday, 26-6.

A strong Dirigo rushing attack, coupled with mumerous penalties, hurt the Seagulls’ (1-2) chances of upsetting the favorite for the Class C state title.

Dirigo (3-0) scored its first touchdown on its second drive, when quarterback Nic Crutchfield scrambled 20 yards for the score. Eric Bolduc’s kick gave Dirigo an early 7-0 lead.

The Gulls struck back two drives later. After recovering a fumble by Dirigo running back Bryan Blackman, Old Orchard Beach started its drive on the Dirigo 35-yard line. Gulls’ utility player Brandan Ouellette found a wide open Zach Gordon along the left sideline for a 28-yard touchdown pass. After a botched extra point attempt, the Cougars held a 7-6 lead.

Dirigo center Brodie Thompson said the Cougars, who beat Freeport in their first game of the season 74-6, said they changed offensive philosophies in preperation for Old Orchard Beach.

“Throwing is probably our strong point,” Thompson said. “We have what we call the ”˜Cougar Offense’ out of the shotgun, and we utilize that mostly. But we knew they were one of the top teams in the South this year, and we would have to mix it up on them.”

The two teams remained stalemated until late in the second quarter, when Crutchfield hit Blackman in the back of the endzone on a 30-yard touchdown pass. Bolduc’s extra point attempt was blocked, giving the Cougars a 13-6 lead going into halftime.

The Cougars struck again in the third quarter, when Crutchfield managed to sneak into the endzone on a 3-yard gain for another Dirigo touchdown. A botched snap on the extra point try gave the Cougars a 19-6 lead.

Old Orchard Beach tried in vain throughout the half to put points on the board, but a strong Dirigo defense prevented the Gulls from getting into Cougar territory until the fourth quarter.

On the last drive of the game, Old Orchard Beach drove the ball to the Dirigo 3. However on second down, Dirigo defensive end Kyle Hutchinson intercepted an Ouellette pass 97 yards for a touchdown. Bolduc’s extra point finished the scoring for Dirigo, ending the game, 26-6.

Thompson said the Gulls gave the Cougars a scare.

“They gave us a pretty good fight,” he said. “Turnovers killed us in the first half. We were hoping to get 30 [points] in the first half and kind of run away. But turnovers killed us and we got to work on that next week and we’ll be all set. I’m pretty sure.”

Ouellette finished as the statistical leader on the day for the Gulls, rushing for 89 yards on 18 carries, while also completing 5 of 12 passes for 63 yards.

Old Orchard Beach head coach Dean Plante said there was plenty to like about how the Gulls played throughout the game.

“We’re a very good football team,” Plante said. “We’ve had a brutal start to our schedule, playing against Yarmouth and Dirigo, and we haven’t played with a full team yet because of injuries. But you don’t make excuses. We’re a good football team, they’re a good football team. They made plays and we didn’t.”

The Gulls will try to get back on track Friday evening as they will host the 1-2 Traip Academy Rangers.