Cony junior quarterback Ben Lucas broke one school record last weekend and will take aim at another against Lawrence (6-0) on Friday night.

Lucas threw six touchdowns in a win over Skowhegan last weekend to give him 22 for the season. He shattered the previous mark of 16, which Luke Duncklee set in 2010.

“It’s pretty cool,” Lucas said. “It’s a good feeling but I can’t get too cocky about it. I knew I could have a big year numbers-wise because of our line and the skill guys we have.”

Lucas has completed 115 of 199 passes (58 percent) for 1,516 yards and the 22 touchdowns.

Offensive coordinator B.L. Lippert holds the Cony single season passing mark with 1,573 yards.

“He could do it this weekend,” Lippert said. “He’s breaking a lot of records.”

Cony (5-1) is gearing up for its biggest regular-season game in years. The Bulldogs and Rams are battling for the top spot in the Pine Tree Conference Class A.

Cony coach Robby Vachon and his staff watched film on Lawrence during the weekend.

“We just stick to what we do,” he said. “We watch film on Mondays and go to full pads (today) and Wednesday.”

It won’t be easy, but Vachon stopped short of calling his team an underdog.

“I’m sure it’s going to be intense,” Vachon said. “There is the potential for a good crowd, with it being their homecoming. We know Lawrence is the measure everybody looks at. We know they present some challenges, but I think we present some problems for them, too. We’re looking forward to the game.”

 

• • •

Gardiner snapped a two-game slide with a 41-6 victory over Oceanside in Rockland to keep its aspirations of hosting at least one Pine Tree Conference Class B playoff game alive.

The Tigers (4-2) are fourth in Crabtree points. They would need to defeat Madison (2-4) on Friday and then upset Leavitt (5-1) the following week to sneak into the top three.

“We know where we are,” Gardiner coach Matt Burgess said. “We need to get a few more wins and maybe need an upset or two.”

Gardiner, Waterville (4-2) and Brewer (4-2) are jockeying for fourth place. Gardiner does not play Brewer and it previously defeated Waterville.

“We need to continue to win,” Burgess said. “We need to go to Madison and build on the second-half momentum we had against Oceanside. We need to travel well and play well, and just keep aiming for the playoffs.”

The Tigers scored more points against the Mariners (41) then they did in their previous two games combined (29).

Burgess credited the defense, particularly inside linebacker Seth Wing, for making big plays.

“We played good defense the entire game,” Burgess said. “That was good to see. Dennis (Meehan) had a nice interception and Steve (Sirois) had big plays. We need to keep it going.”

• • •

It is shaping up to be a wild two-week finish in the Western C Campbell Conference as an abundance of teams jockey for seeding and berths.

“It’s anybody’s race,” Oak Hill coach Stacen Doucette said. “The league is up for grabs.”

Six teams — Maranacook, Oak Hill, Winslow, Dirigo, Traip and Old Orchard — are 5-1 and in the hunt for the No. 1 seed. Lisbon (3-3) and Freeport (3-3) round out the top eight.

However, Boothbay (2-4), two-time defending Class C state champ Yarmouth (1-5) and Winthrop (2-4) are in the mix as well.

“This is one very competitive conference,” Winslow coach Mike Siviski said. “There’s an equal distribution of talent. You have to be ready to play every single weekend. There are a lot of games that have implications.

“I think everybody, from the players and coaches and the coaching staffs, like to be involved in big games and there have been a lot of them.”

Maranacook, despite the loss to Winslow last Friday, still sits atop the conference in Crabtree points. Dirigo and Winslow follow in second and third, respectively.

Oak Hill is fourth, but it has a big opportunity to move up with games against Maranacook on Saturday and Dirigo the following week.

“We’ve had a good year to this point,” Doucette said. “We’re getting ready for Maranacook.”

Added Maranacook coach Joe Emery: “It’s going to be a very interesting playoffs.”

• • •

Maranacook (5-1) struggled against a tough Winslow squad last Friday and will face another difficult challenge at Oak Hill (5-1) on Saturday.

Winslow sank Maranacook 40-14.

“We tried some things and they didn’t work,” Emery said. “With a team like that, which can run to the outside and inside, you have to take chances. Their option killed us in the first half and they ran a good counter play. The second half, we made some adjustments and we did a much better job.”

Emery acknowledged he wished he had run it more in the first half.

“We ran for almost 290 yards against them,” he said. “Our passing game, it just wasn’t there. Looking back, I should have ran it more in the first half.”

Bill Stewart — 621-5640

bstewart@centralmaine.com