DIXFIELD —Coach Doug Gilbert makes no bones about it — the Dirigo Cougars are built for speed.

“I’ve got a 290-pounder that doesn’t play a lot, just because of that,” Gilbert said following the top-seeded Cougars’ 26-0 Western Class C semifinal win over No. 5 Winthrop. “It’s the way the defense is built and it’s the way the offense is built.”

Dirigo built its lead quickly in the first half on team speed, which translated into big plays on offense — a 59-yard TD run by Spencer Ross, a 31-yard TD pass from Nic Crutchfield to Alex Miele, and a 54-yard TD pass to Tyler Chiasson, and defense — a 37-yard fumble return by Kyle Hutchinson. 

“Those big plays, I’ll tell you what, they definitely send (the opponent) down. It’s up for us and down for them,” said Chiasson. “That happened to us last year (in a semifinal loss) against Lisbon. We got down on ourselves. We know that feeling.”

Dirigo’s big-play capability deflated the Ramblers from a promising start, and it was the defense that set the tone. With Cory Harris (118 yards rushing) and Ryan Conant (90 yards) grinding it out effectively on the ground, Winthrop drove to the Cougar-34 on their first possession, only to have Harris stuffed for a short gain by Mason Cote on 4th-and-4.

A one-handed interception by Crutchfield on Winthrop’s next series heightened the Ramblers’ frustration, and immediately preceded Ross’ 59-yard scoring jaunt around the right side.

“I think that was our 14th or 15th interception this year,” Gilbert said. “The defensive backfield does very, very well for us, and the line can put a lot of pressure on you with the two guys coming off the corner.”

That would be Chiasson and Hutchinson at the defensive ends, who along with linebacker Jake Dowland hurried Winthrop QB Travis Luce on numerous occasions.

Forty-nine seconds after Ross’ touchdown, Hutchinson scooped up a Harris fumble forced by Brandon Jonaitis and scampered 37 yards to the end zone to make it 12-0.

Hutchinson got the special teams involved by partially blocking a punt to give the Cougars fine field position at the Winthrop 47. On 3rd-and-6, Crutchfield and Miele connected on a slant to make it 19-0.

In a little under a quarter-and-a-half, the Cougars had shown virtually every rocket-powered weapon in their arsenal. Then Chiasson, normally the thunder in Dirigo’s thunder-and-lightning (Ross) running attack, showed a burst of his own by turning a short screen pass over the middle upfield and into a 54-yard touchdown.

“All of them have big-play capabilities,” Gilbert said of his skill position players. “We had three big plays there with three different guys. You just can’t watch one of them. You’ve got to defend us sideline to sideline and 50 yards down field with Nic Crutchfield in there.”

“It’s the versatility that we have,” Ross said. “We have Chiasson as the power back and we have me and Bryan (Blackman) with the speed and they can air it out.”

To air it out, they usually get all the time and space they need from the offensive line. And yes, that group has the speed to keep up with the big-play guys. 

“(Senior guard) Mason Cote is one of the quickest on the team,” Gilbert said. “It’s team speed. Not just speed in the backfield.”

The Cougars will host another team built for speed, Yarmouth, in the conference championship next Saturday. As far as they’re concerned, it can’t get here fast enough.