WALES — Kyle Flaherty pounded into the teeth of the Boothbay Region defense. Alex Mace got to the edge on more than one occasion and provided some flash to a rejuvenated Oak Hill offense.

The pair of junior running backs, coupled with a defense that made a few plays when it needed them most, helped lift No. 2 Oak Hill past No. 7 Boothbay 41-22 in a Western Class D football quarterfinal Saturday.

“Our whole team has improved,” said Flaherty. “We’re hungry. We want to keep this going.”

Flaherty rushed for 224 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries to power the Raiders (7-2), who will host No. 3 Lisbon (7-2) in a regional semifinal at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Mace rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. He also threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Stevens.

“Our running backs did a great job,” Oak Hill Coach Stacen Doucette said. “They worked hard and we got the job done. We executed some plays.”

Jason Maddocks paced Boothbay (3-6) with 172 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries.

Oak Hill led 13-0 after the first quarter and 27-8 at the half. The Seahawks (4-5) pulled within 27-16 when Maddocks rushed for a 58-yard touchdown early in the third quarter.

But the Raiders pulled away with two scores in the final seven minutes of the third quarter, including a 25-yard run by Flaherty with 6:07 left in the quarter. On Oak Hill’s next possession, a 77-yard run by Flaherty set up Parker Asselin’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Luke Washburn.

“I just had some openings,” Flaherty said. “The line opened some things up for me and I just got myself to the end zone.”

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