WALES — One of the luxuries Stacen Doucette was thankful to have when he took over as head coach at Oak Hill last year was a junior quarterback who already had two years of varsity experience under his belt.

Doucette had heard how Parker Asselin, who has also been a fixture on the Oak Hill varsity basketball and baseball teams since he was a freshman, was wise beyond his years. So he didn’t hesitate to throw his quarterback into a cauldron of high expectations.

“What I decided last year was to put him in pressure situations as much as I could to take advantage of that,” Doucette said. “Last year was probably tough on him. I was very tough on him.”

“And this year,” he added, “I figured that the work was done and it was his and the seniors’ team this year.”

Asselin has rewarded that faith with a Campbell Conference All-Star season and by bring the Raiders within a win in Saturday’s conference title game against Dirigo (12:30 p.m.) of reaching their first state championship game since 1984.

Asselin played a major role in getting them here with two touchdown passes in last Saturday’s 21-20 semifinal win over Lisbon. Trailing by six, he directed the Raiders on a 60-yard drive in 49 seconds by completing three of three passes, the third to Alex Mace for a 37-yard touchdown with 1:29 left.

Asselin shrugged off the feat by pointing to the aforementioned gauntlet he has run to prepare for just such a situation.

“Coach puts more pressure on us in practice then you’ll ever experience during a game,” he said. “He has high expectations every day, even on the practice field.”

Asselin spends those practices facing a scout team running the opponent’s defense and being peppered by his coaches with numerous scenarios that might arise in the game.

“He remembers everything,” Doucette said.

He augments his practice reps by working with quarterbacks coach David Chase, a former Oak Hill and Husson star, and pouring over film at every opportunity.

“I watch a lot of film in school, which I probably shouldn’t,” Asselin said with a grin. “That’s where a lot of learning comes from. It definitely makes it a lot easier when you see it on film and you know it’s going to come and you finally see it in a game and you know what to do.”

Asselin has flourished in his role as an extension of the coaching staff, to the point where Doucette has given him the freedom to do some of the play-calling. Doucette preaches patience, so the goal isn’t to look for the home run on every play but to keep the chains moving, even if it means gaining three or four yards at a time.

Usually that means giving the ball to Mace or Kyle Flaherty, the Raiders’ 1,000-yard rushing tandem. Sometimes it means calling his own number.

At 6-foot-1, 210-pounds, Asselin is capable of pushing a pile and has enough speed to break through an opening.

Last year, on QB sneaks alone, Asselin rushed for 300 yards. The Raiders haven’t had him lower his shoulder as often this year, but he gained more than a quarter of that number last week with an 83-yard run on a keeper.

The Raiders have used the option more this year to take advantage of Asselin’s running ability and decision-making, which has opened up big plays for Mace and Flaherty.

“What we tell him is if he has six yards, take it. Squeeze the ball and go forward,” Doucette said. “He’s got good size and he can be physical at times when he carries the ball.”

The Raiders also take advantage of his size and mobility be designing a lot of rollouts and waggles for him to open up the passing game. With Mace, 6-foot-3 H-back Luke Washburn and steady wide receiver Ryan Stevens, Asselin has the weapons to exploit any defense that loads up to stop the run.

“Mace is a great athlete and Luke’s obviously a big target, and Ryan’s stepping up,” he said. “It’s nice to be throwing to athletes. Just throw it and let them go get it.”

“He has a very strong arm. At times, when someone’s wide open, he slow it down and give you the change-up, so to speak, to make it catchable,” Doucette said. “He’s very smart. He’s aware of the situation. He can make the long ball. He can make the soft ball. He really does have a very good football arm for high school football.

“Combined with his knowledge and his wits for the game and his competitiveness,” Doucette added, “it’s a good mixture.”