WALES — You can’t throw a water bottle at the Oak Hill football huddle without hitting a senior.

If a senior gets hurt, a classmate replaces him. When a senior makes a rare mistake, another one provides a play to balance the books and protect the lead.

There’s little doubt that maturity is the primary reason a team touched by life-changing tragedy, season-ending injury and drive-dousing disappointment will enjoy a bus ride to state championship weekend for a third consecutive November.

“I think it’s been different,” Oak Hill two-way lineman Connor Elwell said of the Raiders’ latest journey. “We have a very different team, that’s for sure, but we have a lot of seniors and a lot of leaders, and I think it serves us well.”

Oak Hill held off a furious Lisbon comeback to win 21-20 on Saturday, tripling up as Campbell Conference champion. The Raiders will take on Little Ten Conference juggernaut Maine Central Institute at 7 p.m. Friday in Orono.

Both teams are 10-0, but Oak Hill rolled over MCI a year ago, rides a 20-game winning streak and was battle-tested beyond description in five games against Dirigo, Winthrop/Monmouth and Lisbon this season.

“This year I think it’s more being led by the seniors, but not much has really changed,” center and linebacker Garrett Gile said. “We’re just playing as a family.”

The family took two punches to the gut last weekend.

First, on Saturday, three-year starting guard and defensive lineman Brendon Tervo’s leg bent at an awkward angle as Oak Hill players pursued a fateful Winthrop/Monmouth fumble in the fourth quarter of a 13-10 semifinal win.

Tervo watched from the sideline in a wind suit Saturday, hobbling noticeably while leading tackler Elwell took on offensive duties to fill the void.

“First time since the second game of the year,” Elwell said. “There was a little pressure since I haven’t done it very often.”

As Tervo and other Oak Hill players iced their aches this past Sunday, they received the phone call that caused pain for which is there is no immediate remedy.

Steve Labbe, 47, who coached many of the Raiders as they moved up through the ranks of the tri-town football program, died after suffering a heart attack. His son, Garrett, played on the 2013 state championship team.

Team members attended the calling hours Wednesday and memorial service on Thursday. Oak Hill athletic director Jim Palmer read words of remembrance Saturday before the anthem was sung.

And then the Raiders roared from the gate as if there were angels in the backfield, racing to a 21-0 halftime lead on the strength of three touchdown runs by quarterback Dalton Therrien.

“We came out with a pretty big fire,” Gile said. “We knew what we had to do. The front line is pretty much all seniors. We knew what we needed to do to focus. We didn’t want it to be over with.”

Emotion often is a disloyal dance partner, however, and Oak Hill watched younger, equally energized Lisbon crank up a comeback for the history books. Three touchdowns in less than a quarter’s time threatened to tie the game.

Then something (cold weather? angels, again?) caused an extra point snap to slip through Lisbon’s fingers. It left more than five minutes for the Raiders to shake out the cobwebs and rediscover their knack for late-game heroics.

Nine textbook, time-killing runs by unselfish, relentless and mindful Therrien did the trick, setting off a cacophony of fire-truck sirens and flood of exuberant tears.

“(Therrien) wouldn’t let me give it to anybody else,” Oak Hill coach Stacen Doucette said. “I said, ‘Seniors are going to run the ball. Seniors are going to block. We’re going to find a way. Do not give up the ball. Do not run out of bounds.’ He followed directions.”

He has earned that trust repeatedly. Therrien improved to 7-0 as a starter in the playoffs, including three one-point wins and a three-point victory.

Statistics and streaks are fun, but the stuff that has fueled the Raiders’ run can’t be quantified.

“It’s a hell of a ride. It’s always fun playing every week. It’s not necessarily about the streak. It’s a bunch of guys who love playing football together,” Therrien said. “Most people don’t get to go to states once in their career. The team I’m on is blessed enough to go three times. I don’t think the guys take that for granted. We know what we want, and we’re going to go get it.”

koakes@sunjournal.com