KENNEBUNK — Old Orchard Beach High’s eight-man football team put on a big-play showcase in the second half Saturday, beating Stearns 60-14 to win the eight-man Small School state championship at Kennebunk High.

It’s OOB’s second state title in three seasons, finishing an unbeaten 11-0 season. The Seagulls beat Orono to win the 2022 title, then lost to Orono in the 2023 championship game.

“We couldn’t lose two in a row,” said OOB senior quarterback Brady Plante, who threw four 415 yards and four touchdown passes. “I don’t even know what to say right now after winning it. We needed to win. We put too much work in during the offseason to lose this game.”

North champion Stearns (9-2) answered OOB’s early salvos in the first half, but the momentum changed when Seagulls senior receiver Riley Provencher put his imprint on the game.

Provencher did not have a catch until the Seagulls took over with 1:01 to play in the second quarter following a Stearns touchdown that tied the game, 14-14. Then Plante, a four-year starter, found his good friend for a 25-yard reception, a 23-yarder, and a 6-yard touchdown to the corner of the end zone as Provencher toe-tapped to stay inbounds with nine seconds left. Plante’s 2-point conversion run sent OOB to halftime with a 22-14 lead.

Provencher then returned the second-half kickoff 75 yards for a score, taking the kick on a bounce, stiff-arming one would-be Stearns tackler to the artificial turf and pulling away from a last-ditch grab of the back of his shirt.

Old Orchard Beach went on to score 38 points in the third quarter.

Plante suggested that Provencher switch to the deep position for the second-half kickoff.

“I told (our special teams coach), ‘Put him back deep because we need him to make a play,’ and he came right out and saw a seam and took it to the house,” Plante said.

Provencher and Plante combined for two long touchdown passes – 56 and 88 yards. Provencher finished with seven catches for 240 yards and three touchdowns. He also had an interception in the end zone to stop an early scoring threat, the first of six turnovers by Stearns.

OOB had four turnovers of its own.

Plante completed 17 of 25 passes, and had a 1-yard rushing touchdown, a 2-point conversion rush and two conversion passes. He also had an interception.

Trot Moody, a junior who usually lines up on the opposite side of the field from Provencher, had eight catches for 110 yards and the game’s first touchdown. He intercepted Stearns quarterback Cam Atkinson twice, had two other clean pass break-ups, caught a 2-point conversion pass, and ripped the ball away from a Stearns player for a forced fumble and recovery.

“I always knew I needed to step up,” Moody said. “When you have one of the best wide receivers in the state, Riley Provencher, you have to step up. Offense or defense, you have to step up.”

Old Orchard’s seniors had already experienced the highs and lows of the state finals. As sophomores, captains Plante, Provencher, Levi Perrone and Brayden Mansur along with then-freshman running back Wes Gallant were key players as OOB grasped the Gold Ball when they beat Orono, 46-22. Last season, after routing every opponent by an average score of 64-4 en route to the title game, the script was flipped. Orono dominated in a 46-18 victory.

This season, the Seagulls were the highest scoring team in the state at 62 points per game. Saturday was the sixth time this season OOB reached the 60-point mark. Gallant bounced back from two first-half fumbles to score two touchdowns and a pair of 2-point conversions.

“Those juniors and seniors were 100 percent committed to getting back here and finishing the job this year,” said OOB Coach Dean Plante, Brady’s father. “They didn’t talk about it. They did things to show it. The training. The diet regimen. The captains’ practices in the summer. It made my life easy.”

The drive to finish on top strengthened an already tight bond.

“It’s been our mission, it’s been our goal, since this time last year when we lost, but at the same time, to win this game is kind of bittersweet because this is the favorite team I’ve ever been on,” Provencher said. “It’s hard to believe that there’s no more after this.”

Stearns had its own senior story. The Minutemen finally reached the state championship game after losing in the North final the three previous seasons. This season, they proved themselves superior to both Orono and league runner-up Houlton.

In the first half, Atkinson showed his elusiveness on a handful of runs before suffering a hip injury that forced Stearns to shelve any designed QB runs. Atkinson threw two touchdown passes, one each to rangy ends Gavin Gagnon (22 yards) and Sam Jacobs (15 yards), but the Minutemen were unable to mount any consistent offense in the second half to slow OOB’s flood of points.

“We say this all year, the most important play of the second half is that kickoff, kickoff return. You’ve got to set the tone for the half,” said Stearns Coach Cody Herring. “The goal was, kick, get a stop and then score. It couldn’t go any worse when they housed that one, but again, it’s the athleticism of those (OOB) guys. It’s a testament to them.”