AUGUSTA — Don’t let the fact that this game had no impact on the standings fool you: The Cony football team was a team on a mission.

The Rams played and celebrated like a team should against its rival, going all-out even with the No. 1 seed in Class B North secured, and proudly hoisted the Great American Rivalry Series trophy after a 54-10 win over Gardiner at Fuller Field on Friday night. The victory completes an unbeaten regular season for the Rams.

“We wanted this really bad,” said Cony junior Anderson Noyes. “I said it (after we beat Gardiner) last year: They hate us, but we hate them more. It was just all want for us.”

This was the 147th installment of the rivalry, which was first played in 1892. Cony leads the series, 79-58-10.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Rams shifted away from their usual pass-heavy attack, relying more on their running game. Cony (8-0) ran the ball 36 times for 200 yards, with Noyes accounting for 27 carries and 152 yards. The Rams passed just 13 times.

• Parker Morin and Benjamin Hanke were in sync. With Cony’s running game establishing itself early, the passing game was allowed to flourish when the Rams went to it – and Morin, Cony’s star quarterback, hit his 6-foot-5 receiver for touchdown passes of 33, 35 and 26 yards.

“We just have that chemistry that’s unbreakable, honestly,” Hanke said. “He finds me on the go-ball, and I just go up there and get it every time.”

• Cony forced turnovers. The Rams picked off Gardiner (6-2) sophomore quarterback Isaac Madore five times. Bryce Watson had two interceptions, while Hanke, Ethan Demmons and Tenny Tibbetts each had one. David Frye recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.

“When you have a sophomore quarterback in this rivalry, it’s tough, trust me – I lost this game as a sophomore throwing a couple picks,” said Cony coach B.L. Lippert. “We just tried to vary the looks and keep him guessing, and we did a good job of that.”

WHAT IT MEANS

• Cony wins its seventh straight game in the rivalry and 12th of the last 13. The Rams will be the overwhelming favorites to win the Class B North title, having beaten the other six Pine Tree Conference teams by an average of 39.3 points in the regular season.

• After a 5-0 start, Gardiner has lost two of its last three games in lopsided fashion, falling 32-7 to Leavitt two weeks ago. Still, the Tigers will get a bye next week before playing a Class C quarterfinal at home, most likely as the No. 4 seed.

“It’s a whole new season for us now, and that’s what I told our guys after the game in the huddle,” said Gardiner coach Pat Munzing. “It’s nothing to hang our heads about because everybody is 0-0 in Class C. It’s a bit different for us having a bye this year, but that means we have two weeks to figure it out.”

A HISTORIC (AND UNUSUAL) MATCHUP

The Cony-Gardiner rivalry is always a big deal, but it was especially so this year with the two teams having their best combined records in matchup history at 13-1. The stands at Fuller Field were packed on both sides, and even with both teams largely having their playoff fates decided already, the energy was palpable.

“I told them all week, ‘Look, we don’t have to win this,’ but when you put the black and orange across from you, you just have that energy,” Lippert said. “You look at Ethan Demmons, I wanted to sit him all week, but he wanted to play in this game. … It’s a rivalry that kids look forward to their whole lives.”

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

“(Our team is) incredible. We can run the ball, as we showed today, but we can also throw it over the top. Our offense is really hard to stop, and we’re really looking forward to games in the future and putting up some big numbers.” — Anderson Noyes

STAT LEADERS

• Gardiner: Isaac Madore (4 of 11, 139 passing yards, 5 INTs), Owen Chadwick (six carries, 16 yards, TD; 63-yard reception)

• Cony: Parker Morin (11 of 13 passing, 200 yards, 4 TDs, rushing TD), Anderson Noyes (27 carries, 152 yards, 2 TDs, four receptions for 47 yards), Benjamin Hanke (five receptions, 127 yards, 3 TDs; INT), Bryce Watson (2 INTs)