WINTHROP — On the second play from scrimmage Friday, Oak Hill’s Alex Mace burst free for a 44-yard scoring run.

On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Winthrop-Monmouth threw the first of four interceptions in the game.

Those two instances summed up the evening as the Raiders beat the Ramblers 48-8.

The big plays went Oak Hill’s way and the Ramblers couldn’t change that luck. Though Winthrop-Monmouth managed to hang with Oak Hill for much of the first half, the Raiders had too much for the Ramblers.

Mace led Oak Hill (3-1) with 218 yards on 16 carries and scored four touchdowns.

“We had a guy trying to follow him for much of the game,” Winthrop-Monmouth coach Dave St. Hilaire said. “We tried to take away the passes to him. He certainly ran well tonight.”

The Raiders were without back Kyle Flaherty, but the offensive line and the running game picked up the slack.

“We have a running back by committee and they all do a really good job,” Oak Hill coach Stacen Doucette . “The offensive line worked hard.”said

Oak Hill ground out 365 yards rushing while the Ramblers managed just 215. At that half, Winthrop-Monmouth actually had more total yards and more first downs than Oak Hill, but the Raiders led 14-0.

“We moved the ball,” St. Hailaire said. “We just couldn’t finish. That’s been the story of our season. Whether it’s been young mistakes or inexperienced mistakes, penalties, interceptions, turnovers, things that good teams don’t do. We play with a team for a half or play with them for three quarters sometimes.”

Mace scored the first three touchdowns for the Raiders. The first time he touched the ball, he burst down the right side 44 yards for a score just 47 seconds into the game.

“The line, a truck could have run through that hole,” Mace said. “It was awesome. They really pulled it through today and they pull it through every day. They work hard in practice every week.”

Early in the second quarter, he finished off a drive from the 2 for a 14-0 lead with 8:19 left in the half. Then after he picked off a pass in the third quarter, that led to a five-yard run and 21-0 lead.

Winthrop-Monmouth (0-4) had moved the ball four times out of its first five possession but had nothing to show for it. The Ramblers were plagued by penalties or losses that nixed any forward progress. Those stops only fueled the Raiders defensive effort.

“That gave us a lot of momentum,” Mace said. “We believe we would do it all the way from the start of the game. We just finished what we started.”

Winthrop-Monmouth’s four interceptions halted any comeback hopes. Levi Buteau had the first. Mace had the second, which led to his score. A fumble on the subsequent kickoff was recovered by Drew Gamage. That led to a 36-yard pass from Dalton Therrien to Matt Martin for a 28-0 lead.

Winthrop-Monmouth got that back with a 52-yard run by Dakota Carter, but Kyle Tervo picked off a pass and returned it 24 yards for a score and 35-8 lead with 2:58 left in the third.

“I think we just felt a little more comfortable defensively,” Doucette said.

Mace finished his night with a burst up the middle for 87 yards and a 42-8 lead with 35 seconds left in the third.

“I was pretty tired after that run,” Mace said. “Another truck could have run through that hole as well. The line really knew what it was doing. They gave it all they had.”

An interception by Brian Thorpe led to the final Oak Hill score. Colby Spencer rushed it 33 yards with 11:28 left in the fourth.

kmills@sunjournal.com