WINTHROP — Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale/Kents Hill made big-time plays to pull of a big-time stunner on the opening night of the high school football season Friday.

The Class D Ramblers recorded two interceptions, recovered fumbles on a punt and a kickoff, and converted those turnovers into touchdowns in a 30-0 win over Leavitt, the two-time defending Class C state champions, at the Maxwell Sports Complex.

“I am not going to lie, going into it, didn’t know it was going to happen,” Winthrop’s Brody Adams, who had an interception and touchdown, said. “Our coaches had a great game plan behind us and we executed. I couldn’t do it without my line, I want to say thanks to them.”

Leavitt, meanwhile, either didn’t capitalize on its big plays or had them called by due to penalties.

“For whatever reason, our touchdowns kept getting called back. That’s football, I guess,” Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway said.

Winthrop coach Joel Stoneton said the Ramblers (1-0) will look to fix their mistakes that allowed Leavitt (1-0) to hit for long gains, even if they were nullified by penalties.

“We aren’t looking at this as a win that we did everything right, by any means,” Stoneton said. “They had a lot of big plays in the air, and we have to get better on some other things. We are just taking this as Week 1, it’s a win for us and we come in tomorrow for a run-stretch, and we will put our game together and get ready for Lisbon on Monday.”

Gabe Robinson kicked a 26-yard field goal to give the Ramblers the only points of the first quarter.

Winthrop opened up lead in the final two minutes of the second quarter.

First, Leavitt muffed a punt, and the Ramblers recovered. Two plays later, Cody Cobb ran up the middle for a 7-yard touchdown to push Winthrop’s lead to 10-0.

“It was huge, it kept our momentum going,” Cobb said of capitalizing off of turnovers. “We had to punt it, and they muffed the punt and we got the ball back and got the score.”

On the ensuing Hornets possession, Cobb intercepted a pass by Brock Poulin and returned it to Leavitt’s 12-yard line.

On the next play, Ramblers QB Braden Branagan hit Brody Adams on a 12-yard slant for a touchdown, and Winthrop took a 17-0 lead into halftime.

Midway through the third quarter, Adams picked off Poulin on the Leavitt sideline, then Carter Rivers capped off a 10-play, 83-yard drive with a 38-yard run along the Winthrop sideline for a 23-0 advantage.

Leavitt fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and six plays later, Branagan’s 6-yard TD run extended the Ramblers’ cushion to 30-0 with 2:29 remaining in the third quarter.

“We played like a poorly coached team,” Hathaway said. “Like, this wasn’t my best week, clearly. We have to coach better. I am going to have to coach harder and have the team better prepared, because we aren’t there.”

The loss is Leavitt’s first since the Class C South final in November 2021.

Both teams put their bench players in during the fourth quarter as Winthrop ran out the clock on big opening victory in a season they entered with high expectations.

It’s also Stoneton’s first win as head coach since stepping down in 2013.

“It feels good, for a couple reasons. Personally, first one back, it always feels good to get a W,” Stoneton said. “I have a ton of respect for the Leavitt program. To be able to play with them and come out with a W is a big deal for us.”

The Ramblers play at Lisbon next week. The Greyhounds defeated Poland 34-27 on Friday.

Leavitt hosts Brunswick next Friday.