YARMOUTH — They scored on offense, defense and special teams, through the air and on the ground.

And that was just the first half.

Yarmouth dominated Madison Friday night, winning, 64-6, in its final home game of the season, taking another big step toward a first-ever postseason berth in the process.

Senior quarterback Eric Estabrook accounted for three touchdowns, two on the ground and one through the air, while adding six extra points and a reception for a two-point conversion.

“Eric understands the offense,” said Clippers coach Jim Hartman. “Him and I can just wink and draw plays in the sand basically and adapt the offense to what the defense is giving us.”

Yarmouth made it look that easy from the start, when senior Brodie Wilson returned the opening kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown.

“We were able to get great blocking up front,” said Estabrook, “Brodie hit the right hole at the right time and it was wide open.”

Madison answered, taking the ensuing kickoff and quickly scoring on 37-yard pass from Lucas Libby to Matthew Soucy. From there, the Clippers defense clamped down, shutting out Madison for the remainder of the game.

“The defense adapted,” Hartman said. “They got a feel for what was happening on the field. Once they saw it and they understood what we were talking about, it was lights out.”

Yarmouth’s defense featured scoring of its own in the second quarter when Asa Arden sniffed out a Madison screen, jumping the route for the interception and going 17 yards, untouched, for a touchdown.

“We had been practicing that all week,” Estabrook said. “We practiced the corner stepping up on that screen guy. (Arden) just read the play while I dropped back with the guy who was going deep…I just love the pick-six”

Minutes later, Arden added another touchdown, this one on offense, receiving a pass from Nate Pingitore off a reverse and taking it 57 yards to the end zone. Senior Andrew King completed the first half scoring with a 24-yard run to make it 48-6.

In the first quarter, Estabrook ran for touchdowns of seven and 57 yards and senior David Dietz scored on a 10-yard run up the middle.

It was more of the same in the second half, with Yarmouth scoring on a 55-yard pass from Estabrook to Andrew Gabrielson and a safety by its defense. The final touchdown came on a two-yard run by Shane Ryan in the fourth quarter.

Yarmouth, in its third year as a varsity program, has been on the other end of lopsided scores in the past. Two years ago, Madison defeated the Clippers by a 51-20 margin.

“This group of seniors and juniors played and started two years ago when we were getting crushed by these scores,” Hartman said. “This group of seniors could have quit when they were getting hammered. They didn’t. They hung in there. They got into the weight room. They did everything right. And they are really, as you can see, tremendous athletes.”

Yarmouth’s victory against Traip Academy in its third game this season was it’s second ever as a varsity program. Now, the Clippers have won five straight and aren’t looking back.

“We took our lumps the first year and got better last year,” Hartman said. “They learned to win in the third game (this season) and are feeding on it now. I am very close to this group of seniors. It’s a special group of kids. The banquet is going to be full of tears seeing them go. They earned it and they deserve it.”

Yarmouth closes out its regular season Saturday afternoon at Freeport in the inaugural Battle of the Bay. It will be the first time the rivals meet as varsity programs, having met as club and junior varsity teams four times, with Freeport winning each contest.

“This is the game I want the most,” Estabrook said.

The explosive Yarmouth football team scored early and often Friday night in a 64-6 home victory over Madison. The Clippers even got a TD from backup quarterback sophomore Dennis Erving on this play as they improved to 5-2 on the year.
Senior David Dietz (right), who has done plenty of damage of his own this season, led the way for junior Asa Arden on one of Yarmouth’s many big plays Friday. The Clippers have won five straight and appear playoff-bound for the first time.

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