Leading receiver Bennett Brooks was sidelined in the first quarter of a win at Old Orchard Beach the previous Friday. Fullback Dustin Tripp went down in the second quarter. Halfback Nate Scott was ejected when his reach for the end zone pylon was perceived as taunting, leading to his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of the game. It also made him ineligble for Boothbay the following week.

When the dust settled, fullback Alec Brown was the only healthy and fully available player among quarterback Matt Ingram’s primary options for the next six quarters, and that just isn’t how the Ramblers do business.

“You get teams like Dirigo where Riley (Robinson) is the centerpiece and you’ve got to stop him, and it’s not easy,” Winthrop coach Dave St. Hilaire said. “I think we could do that with one of our guys, but as we found out last week, if you don’t have that second and third option, you’re going to run into a team that can shut you down.”

Everyone is back from the injured or suspended list just in time for No. 5 Maranacook (4-3) to make the short trip down Route 41 to face No. 4 Winthrop/Monmouth (4-3) in the quarterfinals Friday night at Maxwell Field. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

The Ramblers beat the Black Bears, 17-13, on a last-second touchdown pass from Ingram to Ben Ames in the regular-season meeting, also at Winthrop.

“It gives diversity to our offense again,” Brooks, who has 17 receptions for 314 yards, said. “We didn’t pass it that much the past couple games. All you had to do to stop us was stop the middle run.”

That was no picnic. Brown burned OOB for three third-quarter touchdowns in a come-from-behind win for the Ramblers. He ended up with career highs of 22 carries for 236 yards.

It’s the only time all season a Winthrop/Monmouth back has eclipsed the century mark for an offense that values versatility and balance. The Ramblers didn’t wield those qualities against Boothbay, and it showed in the 8-6 defeat.

“It’s going to be fun. I’m excited. Having Bennett and Nate and Dustin back, it’s going to help take the load off me,” Brown said. “We’re moving on past Boothbay. We’re done with that week. It’s the playoffs, Maranacook-Winthrop. What else can you say?”

Brown leads the team with 708 grind-it-out yards.

“With the Wing-T, the fullback is basically the I-back without a guy in front of him,” St. Hilaire said. “We knew he was going to be the workhorse. What we didn’t want to do was wear him out.”

“They’re so different, each one of them,” Brooks noted. “One’s powerful. One’s quick and shifty. One’s kind of right in the middle. It’s hard to be able to stop all of three of them.”

Scott is the home run threat on the outside, with 43 carries yielding 296 yards and seven catches leading to 96 more. Tripp is a hybrid of the two, using his combination of strength and elusiveness to chalk up 258 yards.

Tripp, who transferred from Maranacook two years ago, erupted for 148 yards against his old team a year ago.

“I try to be a little bit of everything,” Tripp said. “That was the first time I got that many carries, and I just played with some passion.”

Passion was admittedly missing from the regular-season finale, but it might have been the wake-up call the Ramblers needed.

Including a bye week, Winthrop/Monmouth hasn’t met an opponent with a winning record since an Oct. 3 loss at Oak Hill.

“It took me 24 hours. It took some of those guys the weekend,” St. Hilaire said. “When we came back Monday, it was out of sight, out of mind. We didn’t review the film as a group. It was a ‘we’re on to Cincinnati’ type of thing. We moved on quickly.”

And the Ramblers learned something else valuable in the loss: When opponents show them a six-man defensive front, they need all their ingredients in the mix to be successful.

“We have two of the best running backs in the league in my opinion, and we like to throw the ball more than a normal Wing-T offense would like to do,” Brooks said. “It really gets the ball to everyone who can be a factor.”

“A lot of teams scout for just one guy,” Scott added. “We just have a lot of weapons that we can turn to when something else isn’t working. It just gives us a lot of opportunities based on what a defense is good at stopping. If they’re powerful we use our speed. If they’re quick we use our power.”

That’s when the element of surprise is a good thing. And keeps the upset bug away.

koakes@sunjournal.com