HAMPDEN – Saturday’s Class B boys soccer state championship game was a tale of talent and turf – and Yarmouth used its edge in both areas to earn a 3-0 win over Presque Isle.

Tim Murphy and Francis Ellis each had a goal and an assist as the Clippers won their second straight state title by controlling play on the artificial turf at the Weatherbee School complex – a surface just like their own home field.

“It’s a big advantage,” said Murphy, “because we’re just so used to playing on this. This felt like our home field tonight.”

While Yarmouth easily achieved a high comfort level, Presque Isle was forever playing catchup on a surface on which the Eastern Maine champs had just one previous practice.

“They deserve a lot of credit,” said PI coach Scott Young of Yarmouth. “They’re a very strong team, no question about it. They were bigger, stronger and faster consistently throughout the game. But I think the speed was the biggest thing because we were on our heels the entire time and we never quite caught up.”

Yarmouth didn’t give the Wildcats the luxury of familiarizing themselves with the turf, as the Clippers gradually built momentum and cashed in on Murphy’s goal with 21:10 left in the first half. Ellis set up the goal with a long throw-in from the right wing to Murphy just inside the 18-yard line.

“I saw a bouncing ball come in from my right side,” said Murphy, one of 13 seniors on the Yarmouth roster. “I took a touch and volleyed it, and it went off the outside of my right foot and just kind of bent around the keeper. There was a defender right on my back, so I made sure I got the shot off early.”

The Clippers broke the game open midway through the second half. Murphy gained possession in his defensive end and dribbled the ball down the center of the field before grounding a perfect lead pass to his right to Andy Jacques, who quickly redirected the ball past PI goalie Adam Kingsbury with 25:09 left in the match.

Ellis scored Yarmouth’s final goal with 7:21 left off a restart. Adam Varney tipped the ball ahead to Luke Stevens, who advanced uncontested on the left wing toward the goal before making a centering pass that Ellis tipped in from just in front of the near goal post.

“After the first 10 minutes I felt we were sliding a little,” said Murphy. “We were caught on our heels and they were taking the advantage, but we stepped it up again at the beginning of the second half and finished strong.”

Yarmouth (13-2-3) finished with a 16-6 advantage in shots on goal, with the Clippers’ Jon Planer making six stops and Kingsbury making 13 saves for 16-2 Presque Isle.

The Wildcats, making their first appearance in a state final, had just three shots in each half, and were unable to free high-scoring forwards Nate Carter, Greg Whitaker and Travis Brooker for many scoring chances while absorbing their first shutout loss of the season.

“The hardest thing was adjusting to playing on the turf,” said Carter, PI’s career goal-scoring leader. “We don’t play on it, and their home field is turf. It’s a lot faster pace, and we’ve played on it once, but it takes more than that.”

Murphy, for one, understands that familiarity factor. “I’ve been playing on it since my freshman year,” he said. “My freshman year it took some time to get used to it, but now it just feels so normal. Now when I step on real grass my passes feel a little slower and my touch is a little off, so it takes some time to get used to it.”