DIXFIELD — One reason offensive linemen don’t grab much attention is that you can’t measure their contributions with statistics.

The popular assertion is that centers, guards and tackles don’t even care about such trifling matters.

Funny, then, that within seconds of being asked to talk about his group’s success this season, Dirigo High School senior tackle Cliff Boynton rattled off a litany of numbers.

“We have a running back over 1,000 yards. A quarterback who has passed for more than 900,” Boynton said. “We’ve only allowed two sacks. That’s pretty good.”

Boynton’s point is delivered. No so-called skill position performer is an island.

Spencer Trenoweth surely hasn’t put himself in the exclusive company of quadruple-digits on his own. And a major reason for Brett Whittemore nearly matching those numbers with his arm has been his ability to stay vertical in the pocket.

“One of those sacks was designed to be a running play,” Boynton noted.

Here’s another number you can ascribe to the Cougars’ men in the trenches: Seven wins.

Last week’s quarterfinal victory over Old Orchard Beach was Dirigo’s first playoff triumph since the Class C state championship season of 2009, when current seniors Boynton, Zack White, Austin Bernard and Nelson Pepin were freshmen.

That beef and experience up front are a big reason the underdog, third-seeded Cougars feel they have better than a fighting chance in Saturday’s Western Class C semifinal (12:30 p.m.) at No. 2 Oak Hill.

“We just have to play hard. They’re always going to be bigger than us,” said White, a three-year starter at tackle. “It’s not like we’re going to get 50 pounds heavier and three inches taller. You have to go back to fundamentals and do what you can do.”

Oak Hill’s senior-dominated line and army of backs dominated in a 33-0 rout of Dirigo two weeks ago.

“We kind of use it as a little bit of motivation. It’s in the back of our minds,” White said. “They came out and beat us fair and square. Out-played, out-coached, every aspect of the game they pounded us.”

Dirigo didn’t get this far by getting pushed around, however. And the Cougars certainly aren’t small by Class C standards.

Boynton (5-foot-9, 220) joined White (6-1, 220) as a bookend after bouncing between the center and guard positions for most of his junior varsity career.

“We just weren’t sure where we were going to use him, or if he could hold up in the varsity realm,” Dirigo coach Dave Crutchfield said. “We kind of had compassion on a senior and he stepped it up big time.”

Bernard (5-10, 190) and junior Jack Brown (5-8, 210) are the guards. Junior Joey Hebert (6-0, 220) is the center, with Pepin (6-0, 185) providing an extra run-blocker at tight end.

The six of them attribute their collective strength to familiarity with one another. While high school linemen often are reassigned backs and receivers who were physical late-bloomers, the Cougars’ unsung heroes embraced their unglamorous duties back in elementary school and junior high.

“Compared to Oak Hill they’re small,” Crutchfield said. “We just try to get them to stay low. Low guy wins on the line. Stay low, get into them and get your hands on the breastplate.”

The line mirrors the rest of the team’s reputation as free spirits.

“This year has been totally different than every other year. From my freshman year to my junior year it was always about trying to be hard-nosed and stick to a regimen,” White said. “This year all the seniors, a lot of us are a bunch of class clowns. We just relax and do our thing.”

That means there has been minimal sulking, even after the unit’s most humbling performance of the season.

Dirigo hopes that short-term memory loss will help when it gets a second crack at Oak Hill.

“This group is hard to fire up. They’re pretty much kids who love to have fun,” Crutchfield said. “I’m more of a drill sergeant type that wants them to be mad all the time, but they’re just not. They’re a bunch of fun boys.”

Well, to a point.

Among those numbers on Boynton’s mind are Games 11 and 12, otherwise known as the championship rounds. It’s a topic that turns him serious.

“If we don’t win, this could be the last time putting on the pads for a lot of us. It’s the favorite sport for most of us,” he said. “We don’t want it to end.”

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