WINTHROP — If the old adage about special teams winning one game a year for your team holds true, Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan can credit Friday’s victory over Winthrop to his specialty groups.

The Greyhounds outplayed the Ramblers on fourth down all night long to earn a 27-7 win.

Mynahan’s charges recovered an onside kick, blocked a punt, stopped Winthrop on a fourth down fake and moved the chains themselves on fourth down when a Winthrop player lined up offside with Quincy Thompson back in punting formation.

“With the way this field was today,” Mynahan said of the muddy surface, “(Special teams) were going to be the difference tonight.”

Winthrop (3-5) took the opening kickoff and powered down the field, eating up yardage and clock in a 17-play, 72-yard scoring drive. Danny Moody churned out 27 yards on eight carries during the march, which culminated in a 13-yard scoring pass from Jared Hanson (7-of-16, 101 yards) to tight end Tyler Stockford.

Lisbon (6-2) answered early in the second quarter following a 27-yard fade from Zack Splude to Aaron Boyington to the Winthrop 2. Splude went up the middle on the next play to tie the score at 7-7.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Greyhounds’ dominance on special teams began as Chase Hunter recovered Cody Donovan’s onside kick. Hunter also recovered a fourth-quarter fumble and registered a sack of Hanson.

The Greyhounds didn’t score as a direct result of the onside kick, but they pinned the Ramblers deep in their own territory for the remainder of the half and set the stage for the special teams’ next key play. Freshman Winthrop punter Mario Meucci stood at his own 20 with just over 1:30 left in the half. As he began to stride forward, Splude broke free up the middle to get a hand on the punt which sailed out of bounds for a 3-yard punt.

Four plays later, Splude hit Boyington in the right corner of the end zone for an 18-yard score.

“Our special teams was on it today,” Splude said. “We worked on (the punt block) all week. I blocked one against Winthrop last year. We thought it would happen again.”

Winthrop’s offense threatened twice in the second half, but came up empty. Incompletions on third and fourth down from the Lisbon 19 ended it’s first drive of the second half while a fumble on first down at the Lisbon 14 ended another.

“Our plan was to pound the ball,” Winthrop coach Joel Stoneton said. “We weren’t able to sustain our blocks (after the first drive). Dick just gets his kids to play every year.”

Early in the fourth quarter, Stoneton gambled on fourth down from his own 32 with his team needing four yards for a first down. Hanson caught the snap in the upback position and ran to the right before Lisbon closed off the end. He attempted a pass, which fell harmlessly to the ground with no receiver in the area and was whistled for intentional grounding.

Splude, who lined up at fullback, quarterback and flanker throughout the game, took the handoff the very next play and scampered 19 yards for a score. Even when he was not the quarterback, it was Splude relaying the play to the players in the huddle.

“We’ve had a hard time finding a quarterback this year,” said Mynahan. “He’s a hard runner and a hard blocker. He’s our senior. He’s the guy that calms everybody down.”

After Hunter recovered a Robin Cook fumble on the Lisbon 12, Splude took an option pitch to the right and was popped hard by three or four Winthrop defenders before tight-roping his way for about 10 yards inside the chalk of the out of bounds line. Somehow he kept his balance before righting himself and racing 88 yards for the score. He finished with a game-high 133 yards on 14 carries.

“That was a long run,” said Splude. “I hadn’t had one in my whole career. I found the opening and had the speed to go the whole way.”

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