KENNEBUNK — With three quick and shifty running backs and a road-grading offensive line, Kennebunk used Friday’s season-opening 33-7 win over Westbrook to show that as the defending Class B state champion, it’s not going to surrender the title easily.

The Rams ran for 254 yards. Center Kaden Stevens, guards Calvin Johnson and Mason Binette, tackles Charles Majkowski and Colin Qualey, and tight end Jon Hines opened holes throughout the game, giving Kennebunk’s running backs plenty of room to run.

“We’ve got a lot of big bodies up front, a lot of dogs. A lot of guys that have stepped up and put a lot of work in in the offseason,” said Hines, a captain.

From Kennebunk’s first play, a 7-yard run by Brady Stone, it was obvious the Rams would be able to run the ball. Each of Kennebunk’s first six runs went for at least 7 yards, but its first two drives stalled in Westbrook territory with no points.

The Rams found the end zone on their third possession, after a line drive Westbrook punt set them up at the Blue Blazes’ 23. On the first play of the drive, Stone (84 yards) ran up the middle for a 23-yard touchdown 38 seconds into the second quarter.

Westbrook answered on its next drive, when quarterback Giovanni Staples found David Mbuyamba for a 40-yard touchdown, tying the game 7-7 with 7:51 left in the first half. Staples scrambled, first to the right and then the left, before spotting Mbuyamba wide-open downfield.

“I stepped up in the pocket and saw my left was open for a little hole. I got in there and I saw David waving his hands back there, and I hit him. He made an amazing catch and an amazing touchdown,” Staples said.

Staples’ ability to run and extend plays with his legs was a point of emphasis for the Rams defense in practice all week. They knew they had to contain Staples as much as possible, Hines said.

“Gio, he’s a quick cat. He’ll find open guys too. Luckily we kept him in the box. Other than the one he got loose, they did a great job,” Kennebunk Coach Keith Noel said.

Staples finished with 59 yards rushing and 109 yards passing.

“It’s no secret, right? Gio is a good player and a lot of our offense is featured around him. I think teams are going to start to key on him. As they get tape on him they’re going to come up with answers,” said Westbrook Coach Sam Johnson. “It’s our job as an offense to get these guys in the right plays and these athletes can make us right a lot of the time.”

Mbuyamba left the game with a leg injury with 3:16 left in the second quarter, and needed help getting off the field as he avoided putting any weight on his left leg. He was able to return in the second half.

The Rams’ strong ground game continued, with Moose Keys (51 yards) and Austin West (123 yards) each scoring on a 3-yard run in the final five minutes of the half as Kennebunk led 20-7 at the break.

Kennebunk added a pair of third-quarter touchdowns, an 18-yard touchdown catch by Stone from Sam Haley and a 6-yard run by Ethan Burr. As a team leader, Staples said it’s on him to get better defensively to help the run defense.

“I feel like me, as a captain, I should take ownership. We’ll get that tightened up,” he said.