WALES — Alex Mace carried the ball five times in Saturday’s first quarter for the Oak Hill football team. Three of those journeys concluded in the end zone without the sophomore being nicked by so much as a fingernail.

It was that kind of day for the Raiders, and conversely, that kind of day for the undermanned Winthrop Ramblers in a 49-0 Western Class C rout.

“We can tell when we’re ready,” Oak Hill senior two-way lineman Mike Saunders said. “We can tell by everyone’s face and the mood in the locker room.”

Oak Hill (3-1) spent all week waking up on the wrong side of the bed after a reality-check road loss to Winslow, and Winthrop — down four starters to injury — paid the price.

The Raiders scored on seven of their first eight possessions. After the seventh touchdown, a 6-yard run by freshman Colby Spencer with 4:49 remaining in the third quarter, the balance of the game was played with no clock stoppages.

“It’s not a good physical match-up, but I’m proud of our kids,” Winthrop coach Joel Stoneton said. “I know they put up 40-some-odd points or whatever, I lost track, but the reality of it is those kids played physical today for us and they’re just bigger and stronger than us.”

Mace’s scoring runs covered 6, 5 and 21 yards, all behind Saunders on the left side.

Caleb Provost, Richard Fillion, Alex Duquette and Brian Daniels round out the senior front five that overwhelmed the Ramblers (1-3) at the point of attack.

“That was my best day so far. I was seeing perfect holes. I’m so proud of my line,” Mace said. “We worked really hard this week. We knew what was coming at us.”

Oak Hill coach Stacen Doucette appreciated his running back’s humility but praised his effort.

“A lot of that’s Alex,” Doucette of the easy scoring runs. “He’s a good athlete and he runs to daylight.”

Kyle Flaherty’s interception of Jared Hanson (4-for-16, 42 yards) set up a 21-yard strike from Parker Asselin to Luke Washburn.

Oak Hill’s tight end lost the ball as he tried to squirm away from a Winthrop tackler at the 2-yard line, but Washburn alertly cleaned up his own mess in the end zone. Cody Collingwood’s point-after made it 28-0 in the final minute of the first quarter.

Asselin was 5-for-6 through the air for 176 yards. Oak Hill out-gained Winthrop 491 yards to 51, limiting the Ramblers to a net minus-7 rushing yards.

“The kids played well up front. (Winthrop was) physical too,” Doucette said. “There were a lot of men in the box, so we thought we had to throw the ball to help the running game a little bit.”

Brandon Potvin’s 49-yard scoring scamper made it 34-0 and convinced Doucette to begin shuffling junior varsity players into the game. That led to a mild controversy in the final minute of the half.

After Winthrop stopped Sam Morin and Flaherty on three consecutive runs up the middle, the Ramblers called timeout, presumably to set up a punt block or give its offense a chance to score.

Oak Hill didn’t like the strategy after making what it perceived as a gesture of mercy, and Doucette sent his starting offense back onto the field facing fourth-and-4 from its own 15.

With the Ramblers’ special teams scrambling into position, Asselin took the snap from the shotgun formation and found Jon Averill all alone for an 85-yard score.

The play led to two halftime exchanges between Doucette and Stoneton — an animated conversation as the teams left the field, then a conciliatory handshake upon returning.

Winthrop was missing both halves of its backfield tandem, Zach Glazier and Danny Moody. Each is one of the Ramblers’ defensive leaders, as well.

Since an opening-night shutout of Sacopee Valley, the Ramblers have lost to Traip, Lisbon and Oak Hill by a combined score of 132-0.

“I don’t think (having the injured players available) would have made that much of a difference. Having my two tailbacks might have helped a little bit, but they dominated both sides of the line,” Stoneton said. “When we throw the ball and protect, I think we’re a dangerous team. They’re just so good up front. If you’ve got a good line, that’s the way it’s going to be.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

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