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FARMINGTON — For the Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale football team, the two-class difference didn’t matter. Its size disadvantage didn’t matter. Its mistakes didn’t matter.
The Ramblers grinded to the end Friday night in a Class B/D crossover against Mt. Blue. The payoff was a 13-7 victory for the Class D South leaders at Caldwell Field.
Tied 7-7 in the fourth quarter, Winthrop found itself in good field position after Lucas Rice intercepted a pass from Mt. Blue quarterback Gary Harkins III. Five plays later, junior running back Ross Fichthorn charged up the middle for a 4-yard touchdown run, giving the Ramblers (7-0) a lead with 4:30 remaining.
Fichthorn led Winthrop with 107 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Carter Rand added 104 yards on 13 carries.
“I think we showed tonight that Class D is not just (full of) bad teams,” Fichthorn said. “We can compete with the upper levels, too.”
Class B Mt. Blue (1-6) was led by Harkins, a senior, who was 11 of 24 passing for 148 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Sophomore receiver Cannon Smith had six receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown.
It was the first time the two teams had played since Oct. 12, 1968, when Winthrop beat Mt. Blue, 30-0. Winthrop now has a 24-23 lead in the series, including games against Wilton Academy and Farmington High School before the creation of Mt. Blue.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be a cake walk,” Winthrop coach Joel Stoneton said. “We knew (Mt. Blue) was a good team and we battled with them; they battled with us. It was a great game and helped us get ready for some other things.”
How did they get there?
A short memory. Winthrop was far from perfect. The Ramblers had multiple trips inside the red zone without scoring. Most notably, after Tristyan Ortiz took the opening kickoff 70 yards to the Mt. Blue 5-yard line, Winthrop wasn’t able to punch the ball into the end zone, turning it over on downs.
The Ramblers led 7-0 at halftime, as Fichthorn scored on a 16-yard run with 4:11 left in the second quarter. Mt. Blue answered on its first drive of the second half. Harkins found Smith on a slant route, and the receiver burst into the open for a 49-yard scoring play that tied the game.
“Big plays are going to happen,” said Winthrop linebacker Brock Dewar. “There’s no doubt in my mind that (Mt. Blue) has a great team over there, and I think their record is only half of who they are. But we know we can bounce back from anything.”
What does this mean?
The Ramblers have all but wrapped up the No. 1 seed in Class D South. Winthrop ends its regular season at home on Oct. 24 against Maranacook.
“I think this team is as happy as it’s ever been, just knowing what we’ve accomplished,” Dewar said. “I think we’re ready for anything.”
“I don’t want to hear anything about this weak schedule (stuff), because we’ve played everybody but Freeport,” Stoneton said. “I keep hearing it, and it’s fine. But these kids deserve more credit, because they’re playing good football.”
Noticeable size difference
Winthrop’s offensive line did not have an easy assignment against Mt. Blue’s defensive line, which includes Joe Hayden (275 pounds), Nicholas Rackliff (260) and Daniel Welch (210).
“They had some monster linemen, so we had to punch them in the face from the start and never stop,” Fichthorn said.
“We have some very physical football players who are in very good shape and are very fast,” added Stoneton. “Our game plan coming into this was to use their size against them a little bit. It didn’t work all the time; we didn’t expect them to have so much success through the air. But just being able to stay with them and grind it out was awesome. Credit to our (offensive line) and our tailbacks grinding it out. That’s what we needed to get out of here, and we did.”
Key moment
Rice’s interception came at a critical time, putting momentum back on Winthrop’s side. Harkins was attempting a pass to receiver Roman Galkowski, but the ball was tipped out of Galkowski’s hands and fell into the hands of Rice.
Statistical leaders
• Winthrop: Ross Fichthorn (21 carries, 107 yards, 2 TDs), Carter Rand (13 carries, 104 yards), Lucas Rice (1 interception).
• Mt. Blue: Gary Harkins III (11 of 24 passing, 148 yards, TD, INT), Cannon Smith (6 receptions, 125 yards, TD), Dillon Gray (14 carries, 47 yards).
