WINTHROP – Seeded first in the regional playoffs but somehow perceived as vulnerable, Winthrop High School gained less motivation from its midseason loss to Old Orchard Beach than it did from the late-season talk on Main Street.

“We heard around town from people that we slid into first place,” said Winthrop coach Joel Stoneton. “But that’s great, you know? We always talk about staying on the field together and believing in each other.”

If what the Ramblers did in Friday night’s Western Class C semifinal constitutes sliding, consider it an avalanche. Winthrop scored one touchdown through the air, one on the ground and another by way of a blocked punt return in returning the favor to No. 4 OOB, 21-0, at Maxwell Field.

Winthrop (9-1) won its first playoff appearance in six years and earned the right to host longtime, multi-sport rival Boothbay in next weekend’s Campbell Conference championship game. Day and time have yet to be determined.

Ray Linck started the Ramblers’ complete and shared domination by smothering a punt, catching it on a hop and scampering 27 yards for a touchdown with 7:23 remaining in the first quarter.

Jordan Conant completed a 6-yard TD strike to Jason Raymond to make it 14-0 at the half, and Skyler Whaley dotted the exclamation point with a churning, arm-tackle-shaking, 18-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter.

Let’s see, that covers passing, running, receiving and special teams. Oh, how about the defense? Winthrop held OOB to 99 total yards and three first downs. Riley Cobb intercepted two passes, including one that was tipped by David Ketchen. And Ketchen later corralled one of his own.

“We knew every play that they were going to run out of every formation,” Ketchen, a 135-pound junior, said while cradling Stoneton’s game ball under his arm.

OOB (5-5) snapped Winthrop’s five-game winning streak back on Oct. 5 with a textbook demonstration of power football behind its sturdy offensive line. Trying to shake things up in their bid for an encore, the Seagulls employed a spread formation, dispatching usual quarterback Dean Perrone as a flanker and snapping primarily to Brandon Ouellette out of the shotgun.

Ouellette and Perrone were a combined 7-of-23 for 41 yards. With the exception of their own blocked punt in the third quarter, the Seagulls didn’t cross midfield until Ouellette’s 7-yard keeper reached the Winthrop 48 on the final play of that period.

“Dave Ketchen played a hell of a game. Ray Linck did his thing. Everyone stepped it up. We all made the plays we had to make,” said Whaley. “We got it handed to us the first game. We did not take them seriously, but this time we were better prepared. This is our house. We weren’t going down.”

Whaley was a nuisance to OOB in all phases. In addition to his team-high 16 carries for 61 yards and the touchdown, the junior defensive end was in on a half-dozen tackles. He also knocked OOB’s Nate Tarbox from the game with a bone-jarring block on a punt return.

With the teams combining for 14 punt attempts and OOB condemned to miserable field position throughout, it was merely a matter of time before Winthrop’s explosive offense took advantage of the reduced real estate.

Starting at the OOB 44, Conant (9-of-19, 112 yards) completed a 16-yarder to Andrew Smithgall and found Zach Farrington for 19 more to set up Raymond’s TD catch on a quick slant with 1:05 left in the half.

After an illegal block wiped out what would have been a 53-yard interception return by Cobb, Conant’s 18-yard connection with Farrington in the right flat set the table for Whaley’s scoring surge of equal distance.

“We remembered what happened against Lisbon last week (when Winthrop trailed 22-6 at the half before winning 36-22), and we were trying not to get our heads too blown up,” Conant said. “We had so much momentum coming in from play one. We just came out firing.”

Zach Chase led the Seagulls with six carries for 28 yards, a far cry from their smash mouth showcase last month.

“I don’t know if they could have done that tonight. The kids brought it. They were physical, and they had something to prove,” Stoneton said. “It wasn’t a grudge match. They just wanted to show people that we’re the No. 1 team.”