READFIELD — The Winslow football team features a nice combination of speed and power in its backfield.

A trio of backs — Joseph Hopkins, Zach Guptil and Dylan Hapworth — put on a show Friday night in a 40-14 win over Maranacook in a pivotal Campbell Conference Class C game at Ricky Gibson Field of Dreams.

“If they can all run, we’ll use them,” Winslow coach Mike Siviski said. “And they can all run the ball.”

Hopkins led the charge with a game-high 223 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries. Guptil rushed for 77 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries. Hapworth never found the end zone, but he still contributed with 92 yards on 14 carries.

“It’s a huge win,” Hopkins said. “It’s a big deal. People can’t take us lightly any more.”

The three helped the Black Raiders (5-1) pull even at the top of the North Division.

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Jesse Evans rushed for 193 yards and a touchdown for Maranacook (5-1).

“We knew if (Winslow) controlled it up front, it could be a long night,” Maranacook coach Joe Emery said. “And it was a long night. We gave up 100 pounds on the line. It just made it too tough.”

Winslow put the game out of reach with a big second quarter. Leading 7-0, the Raiders scored twice in the final five minutes of the quarter to take a 20-0 lead into halftime.

Guptil got it started with a 6-yard touchdown rush before Hopkins scored on a counter from 20 yards out in the final two minutes of the quarter. His touchdown was set up by the second of three Caleb Castonguay interceptions.

“We have a great set of running backs and we got some great blocks,” Hopkins said. “It was great to run the ball like we did.”

Hopkins padded Winslow’s cushion when he rushed for a 63-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage in the second half. Hapworth added the extra point and the Raiders were cruising, 27-0.

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“I saw a hole and ran right through it,” Hopkins said. “I was just hoping nobody would catch me.”

Maranacook finally broke through when Castonguay rushed for a 1-yard touchdown with 6 minutes, 32 seconds left in the third quarter. Evans would add a 30-yard scoring run later in the quarter.

“We mixed it up on them in the second half but they just got too far ahead of us,” Emery said. “Winslow is just a great football team. They are the best team we’ve seen. They executed better than we did.”

Junior Simon Davis rushed for 67 yards on nine carries for Maranacook.

Bill Stewart — 621-5640

bstewart@centralmaine.com

 

 

 


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