Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale’s Beau Schmelzer runs along the sideline as Spruce Mountain’s Jacob Pike dives for his legs during a game earlier this season Winthrop. The two teams will meet again in a D South semifinal Friday night. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal Buy this Photo
After earning the top seed in the Campbell Conference Class D playoffs with a 7-1 regular season, Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale had a bye week in which to work on some things it saw while self-scouting.
“We saw some issues that were exposed (in Week 8) vs. Spruce (Mountain). We’ve gone and tweaked a couple things. We’re making sure we’re crisp. Getting our reps offensively, defensively,” coach Dave St. Hiliare said last week, as the Ramblers waited to see who their semifinal opponent will be.
Last week’s rainy weather caused St. Hilaire to adjust his team’s practice schedule.
“We had a Plan A set up, then the weather kind of threw a wrench into it. The first two days we were outside and we worked offensively and defensively. (Thursday) we decided, ‘Hey, let’s go into the gym,” St. Hilaire said. “We’re not going to get much out of a practice outside. We did an hour’s worth of work. We did a 20-minute session of weight room, and two 20-minute session of (plyometrics). We called it, this is our game for the week. We tried to stay in shape, really.”
The Ramblers opponent will be a familiar one: Spruce Mountain. The Phoenix defeated Mountain Valley 37-12 in the quarters last week. This will be the fourth game between Spruce Mountain and Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale in two seasons. These teams met twice last season, with Spruce Mountain taking a regular season win and the Ramblers winning the playoff rematch.
Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale closed the regular season two weeks ago with a 34-12 win over Spruce Mountain.
Around the state: Brunswick’s 47-0 win over Brewer Friday was the 100th of coach Dan Cooper’s career. … John Bapst beat Oceanside in the Class C North quarterfinals, and it was the Crusaders first playoff win since 2014. … Statewide, six lower seeds won in the opening round of the playoffs.
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