That’s the greatest distinction between the two opponents in Friday’s closer-than-it-looks match-up at Harlow Park. The undefeated Cougars and winless Ramblers kick off at 7 p.m.

Put together Winthrop/Monmouth’s second half at Lisbon (28-24 loss after falling behind by three touchdowns) and first half against Old Orchard Beach (8-7 halftime lead unraveled into a 27-8 defeat) and the Ramblers are in business.

The trick now for a team with a new coach and mostly new players after an undefeated regular season in 2013 is to string the two together.

“We have time to fix our issues, but we need to do the right things on every play,” Winthrop/Monmouth coach Dave St. Hilaire said. “While playing some tough teams early raises our intensity, starting out 0-2 can be a damage to our confidence. We just need to stay together, remain positive and work things out.”

Sophomore quarterback Matt Ingram has been solid with seniors Dakota Carter and Mario Meucci on the receiving end. Zack Phinney has done most of the work out of the backfield before getting banged up in the second half against OOB.

St. Hilaire expects the return of lineman Jeremy Mihilakis to spark the Ramblers’ Wing-T.

“He may be the top lineman in the conference,” St. Hilaire said. “We didn’t have him last week. He sets the tone for us on the line.”

Dirigo’s tone-setters in a 14-6 win over defending state champion Oak Hill were Joe Casey on special teams, Tyler Frost out of the backfield and at linebacker, and the secondary of Gavin Arsenault, Riley Robinson and Kaine Hutchins.

“Having Joe Casey back in Week 2 gave them another weapon,” St. Hilaire said. “Frost is tough on both sides of the ball. If you don’t block and tackle him low, you lose the one-on-one battle.”

Frost has gone over the century mark in two grinding victories. His fourth-quarter touchdown was the game-winner in a 12-6 triumph over Maranacook.

“There’s some good teams in this league,” Dirigo coach Jim Hersom said. “I saw Winthrop and Old Orchard Beach, and I was impressed with the hitting. Every game we’re going to have to play hard.”

The Cougars encounter a playoff rematch for the second consecutive week. Dirigo avenged a regular-season loss with a 22-20 victory in the 2013 regional semifinals, taking advantage of a failed fake punt by the Ramblers with just over two minutes to go.

Getting on the right track to make a Campbell Conference playoff run is more meaningful to the Ramblers than the idea of revenge, at this point.

“When we don’t miss assignments, we show how good we can be on both sides of the ball,” St. Hilaire said. “We need to mature on the go. We’ve simplified things this week to help clean up the mistakes.”

koakes@sunjournal.com