WINTHROP — The Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale football team found another gear in the second half of the Class D South football final against Morse on Friday night at Charlie’s Field.

The Ramblers scored touchdowns on four of their final five drives to run way with a 39-8 win over Morse, earning their first regional title since 2008. Winthrop (10-0), the No. 1 seed in the South, will make its first appearance in a state final since 2021 (when Class D was statewide) against the winner of Saturday’s North final between Winslow and John Bapst.

“It feels great,” said Winthrop senior WR/DB Ben Porter. “It’s been our goal all year to make it far, and we’re one step closer to where we want to be.”

Porter had two receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown, along with two interceptions on defense.

“This is No. 1 for me,” Porter said. “It’s my last home game. I knew I wanted to put it all out there for my team and for myself as a memory. Just played my heart out. I got what I wanted, and our team got what we wanted.

Senior quarterback Jacob Feith was 4-of-4 passing for 122 yards, with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. Ross Fichthorn ran for 121 yards and two TDs, while Carter Rand rushed for 89 yards and a score.

Junior quarterback Dylan Root was 8 of 11 passing for 104 yards and a touchdown for Morse (5-6).

Winthrop went 51 yards on its opening drive to take a 6-0 lead on a 27-yard pass from Feith to Porter on a fly route.

“Chemistry (is key),” Feith said. “The offensive line is incredible; I’ve got all the time I need (to throw). Our receivers are incredible; I can throw it up to them. It’s a great formula.”

The Ramblers made it 12-0 midway through the second quarter when Fichthorn capped a 62-yard drive with a 1-yard run.

Sixth-seeded Morse, seeking a third straight road victory in the playoffs, pulled within 12-8 just before halftime when Root ended a 64-yard drive with a 6-yard pass to Caden Wells.

“I’m incredibly proud,” said Morse coach Jason Darling. “We’ve got tough kids and kids who want to believe and work hard. What more could you want as a coach? Their toughness and their grit (were key this year), and their desire to get better every day. I just love those kids so much.”

Winthrop, however, pulled away in the second half on rushing touchdowns by Fichthorn, Rand, Feith and Tristyan Ortiz.

Winthrop’s defense also shut down the Morse offense after making some halftime adjustments. The Ramblers had a 3-0 advantage in turnovers.

“We still feel like people don’t respect our game,” Winthrop coach Joel Stoneton said. “From preseason to when the schedule came out, (people said) we had the easiest schedule … That’s fine. We love that, it makes my job easy. We are just focusing on the fact that tonight we’ve proven ourselves in the South. We’d love to move forward and prove ourselves a little bit more next week, and we’ll see what happens.”

Winthrop’s last state title was the Class C championship in 2000.

“It’s pretty big,” Porter said. “We’re expected to win; we’re a big football school. We haven’t won a regional final in quite a long time. We knew what we wanted and what we could do and brought that home for us and our fans.”

Feith added: “This is huge for me. Ever since I was a freshman, every year we’ve lost in the regional final. I knew we’d get it done this year. But we’ve still got one more.”