By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

WINTHROP – Despite a 12-0 lead at the half, the Winthrop football team didn’t get the kind of start it was looking for Friday night.

“We were really hoping to come out the first half and kind of turn the corner a little bit and learn from last week,” said Winthrop coach Joel Stoneton. “We were very frustrated at the half when we didn’t do that. We’d try to establish the run game, and then it would fall apart on us. We’d try to establish the pass. We just went in at halftime and challenged the offense.”

The Rambler offense was up to the task in the second half, scoring on all but one possession to finish off a 45-0 victory over the Cougars.

“The reality is we still came out and won the game,” said Stoneton. “We feel against a better team, taking nothing away from Dirigo because they played very physical football and played very well with us in the first half, but we could have been on the other side. We can’t put ourselves in those situations.”

Tavis Hasenfus led the Ramblers (4-1) with four touchdowns and 146 yards on 24 carries. Winthrop also had 130 yards through the air. Quarterback Travis Frautten threw for three touchdowns while Kyle Plossay had one.

“We like to have as balanced an offense as possible,” said Hasenfus. “We like to throw when the opportunity arises, and we like to be able to establish a running game. We feel that our best offensive team is when we can throw and we can run.”

Frautten hooked up with Corey Gillespie in the left corner for a 15-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Hasenfus scored from the 5 with 6:48 left in the half for the other score to make it 12-0.

Dirigo (0-5) had its chances, though.

The Cougars’ Kevin O’Leary recovered a fumble at the 50, but Dirigo only lost yardage on the possession. The Cougars had a sustained drive that got as close as the nine but back-to-back losses on running plays stalled that chance. The Cougars totalled just 14 yards in the first half and were minus-10 on the ground.

On Winthrop’s first possession of the second half, the Ramblers went 50 yards on four plays. Frautten hit Gillespie again for a 14-yard touchdown.

“Gillespie’s a great receiver,” said Stoneton. “We have to get him the ball.”

Hasenfus scored from 15 yards out late in the third, and added an 11-yard scamper early in the fourth. He also caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Frautten. Plossay hit Brandon Dupuis on a 11-yard scoring play to finish the scoring.

“We really wanted to come out in the second half and play like we can play,” said Hasenfus. “Everybody stepped their game up in the second half and came out and got the job done.”