The Winthrop/Monmouth co-operative team ushered in a new era with a tough 14-8 victory Saturday over perennial playoff contender Lisbon.

It was the first victory at Maxwell Field for the program in two years.

“That was definitely something that was wearing on us,” Winthrop/Monmouth coach Joel Stoneton said. “The bigger thing for us is that we’ve come together. Going into this merger I know people had a lot of questions. We’ve said all along the kids will become close, they’ll show up and they will perform.”

The game was postponed from Friday to Saturday because a blown transformer blew the lights out.

Winthrop athletic director Chris Moreau said Monday that work crews were working on the problem. He said he is optimistic the Ramblers will be able to play under the lights at their next home game, Sept. 20 against Dirigo.

“We’re looking into the problem,” he said. “We anticipate having everything fixed by (Sept. 20). We’ll know more later this week.”

The Ramblers (1-0) had 60 offensive plays from scrimmage against the Greyhounds (0-1), of which 55 were on the ground. Winthrop/Monmouth rushed for 191 yards as a team, including 147 by Zach Glazier.

“He was a playmaker,” Stoneton said. “We used him sparingly on defense to keep him fresh. It was a great win. Anytime you beat Lisbon, it’s a big deal.”

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Cony senior quarterback Ben Lucas and his group of wide receivers, including John Bennett, Tayler Carrier and Jonathan Saban, put up big numbers in a 48-20 win at Messalonskee.

Lucas threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns — two to Saban and another to Bennett.

However, Cony coach Robby Vachon said it was the play of a few inexperienced players that helped guide the team to its first season-opening win in three years.

“We had a few guys step up,” Vachon said.

In particular, left guard Marshall McLaughlin and right tackle Alex Neill did more than just hold their own against a strong Messalonskee defensive front.

“They did a fantastic job,” Vachon said. “We had great pass protection all night.”

The game also provided a glimpse of what Reid Shostak could add to the offense.

The sophomore linebacker rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. He split the carries with Charlie Hallak.

“Reid runs downhill,” Vachon said. “We like that. He’s deceptively fast, too. He’ll find the holes, and if one isn’t there, he’ll create one.”

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Gardiner coach Matt Burgess said he plans to split the reps at quarterback between Matt McKenna and Eli Fish again this week against Brunswick (1-0). The two shared the duties in a 29-8 loss to Lawrence last week.

“We’ll watch them again for another week,” Burgess said. “They both do different things, so it’s making my job harder. They bring different tools to the table.”

Burgess added he’d like to see one of them emerge and claim the starting job.

“I think everybody would prefer to have one,” Burgess said, “but we’ll wait and see. They are both great players.”

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Oak Hill senior Luke Washburn picked up where he left off last year, turning in a monster performance in a 52-29 win over Telstar.

The defensive end/halfback never found the end zone, but he made his presence felt in just about every other way possible.

He finished with three sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

“He was an animal,” Oak Hill coach Stacen Doucette said. “He was a vicious man on defense. He’s our muscle, he’s our size. As Luke goes, so do the Raiders. If we’re getting yards, it’s because of Luke. If we’re making big plays on defense, it’s because of Luke.”

Oak Hill (1-0) will play at Dirigo (1-0) on Friday night for what is shaping up to be the first of four potentially difficult contests.

After Dirigo, the Raiders will see Maranacook (0-1), Winthrop/Monmouth (1-0) and Old Orchard Beach (1-0).

“Dirigo is a physical team,” Doucette said. “We expect a tough, tough challenge.”

It will also be the one true night game Oak Hill will play in the regular season. The Raiders do play at Old Orchard on Oct. 4 in a game that will start at 5 p.m. because of SAT testing the following day.

“We’re going to treat it like every other week,” Doucette said. “We like Saturday games but the kids like to play under the Friday night lights.”

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Around the state: Thornton Academy running back Andrew Libby will miss the season after suffering a knee injury in the season opener at South Portland on Friday. A senior, Libby was the Maine Gatorade Player of the Year last season … Teams that dropped from Class A to Class B with the expansion to four classes this year went 5-3 in Week 1. Both Mt. Ararat and Messalonksee lost to another former Class A team. Only Gorham lost to a Class B holdover, Falmouth.

Staff writer Travis Lazarczyk contributed to this report

Bill Stewart — 621-5640

bstewart@centralmaine.com