DIXFIELD — One year ago, Dirigo had a senior-laden roster with physical lines that dominated both sides of the football, a clock-killing running game and a quick-strike passing attack. The Cougars used all of those assets to knock Winthrop out of the Western Class C semifinals.

The tables have turned in 2010.

On Saturday, it was the Ramblers who controlled the line of scrimmage, ran the ball down the opposition’s throat and made big plays in the passing game on their way to a 40-8 victory at sun-splashed Harlow Park.

“There’s no better revenge than that,” said Winthrop QB Travis Luce. “Losing that game (last year) disappointed us. They took away our dreams last year.”

Winthrop (2-0) outgained Dirigo, 470-47, and held the Cougars (1-1) without a first down in the second half, two overall (to Winthrop’s 21). Dirigo’s only points came on a 52-yard Spencer Ross punt return that gave the Cougars an 8-6 lead on the first play of the second quarter.

The Ramblers ran more than twice as many plays from scrimmage (71-33) and scored 34 unanswered points, thanks in large part to their two-headed ground attack of Derek Pamphrey (26 carries, 158 yards) and Ryan Conant (23 carries, 148 yards, two TDs). Winthrop totaled 346 yards on the ground.

“Our line just did an amazing job,” Pamphrey said. “We knew Dirigo would give us their best. I think we’re a little faster than their backers. Spencer Ross has the speed to catch up to us. That was the only thing I was worried about.”

Not to be outdone, Luce (6-for-12, 124 yards) combined with senior wide receiver Colby Laflamme on three touchdown passes.

Laflamme caught four passes for 93 yards, including the game’s first score on a 16-yard pass from Luce. He also had a key interception that turned the momentum in Winthrop’s favor for good, even though it came with just 8.7 seconds left in the first half.

The turnover set the Ramblers up at Dirigo’s 46 with time for two quick plays. Luce connected with Laflamme on a 37-yard pass that put them at the 9 with two seconds left. After a timeout, he found Laflamme again on a post pattern in the middle of the end zone that gave the Ramblers a 12-8 lead as the horn sounded.

“The coaches were telling me Colby’s post was wide open, so look at him,” Luce said. “Spencer Ross was cheating over towards Joe Brennan because of what he did last week (three TD receptions against Madison). Colby was wide open in the end zone. I couldn’t miss him.”

Missed opportunities still worried Winthrop, despite taking the lead into the intermission. The Ramblers gained over 231 yards in the first half, but had only a four-point lead to show for it because Dirigo’s defense, led by senior linebacker Arik Fenstermacher, stopped them twice deep in its own territory.

“We were getting very frustrated because we were running the wrong holes with the lead blocks,” said Winthrop coach Joel Stoneton, whose roster includes 14 seniors. “It’s just so hard to mesh a little bit, and I think we’re starting to mature as a team and that’s good for us.”

The Ramblers broke the game open by scoring on their first four possessions of the second half before running out the clock on the fifth. Conant started the deluge with an 18-yard TD run. Laflamme and Luce hooked up on their third TD pass, a 31-yard strike, to make it 24-8.

In the fourth quarter, Conant added a six-yard scoring run and Dany Moody chipped in with a three-yard TD run.

Led by Conant, Tyler Reeve, Travis Hutchings, Chris Halligan and Zach Berter, Winthrop’s defense limited Dirigo to just 10 yards rushing on 21 attempts and never allowed the speedy Ross (10 carries, five yards) to find the open field.

“We played 24 mintues of football and we needed to play 48,” Dirigo coach Doug Gilbert said. “They key on Ross, key on Ross, key on Ross. We tried to get the fullback into the game. We tried to get the other halfback into the game. They just don’t respect them. Until one of those guys steps up, key on Ross. That’s what I would do.”

Copy the Story Link