WINTHROP — Winthrop didn’t wear throwback football jerseys Friday night. The Ramblers did party like it was 1999, though.

Best known this season for a punishing one-two, off-tackle ground attack, Winthrop turned the pages back to yesteryear and elected to sling leather and test the perimeter in its Western Class C quarterfinal against Dirigo.

Stretch plays and quick slants became the rule, feeding the Cougars a balanced diet and inflicting heartburn in the form of a 40-6 Ramblers rout at Maxwell Field.

Senior quarterback Travis Luce enjoyed one of the most prolific nights of his career, completing 9-of-16 for 188 yards and three touchdowns.

“A lot of teams load up against the run because they know we have Ryan (Conant) and Derek (Pamphrey). That’s fine with us,” Luce said.

Not that the running game struggled a whit, mind you.

Conant carried 32 times for 177 yards and two touchdowns.

He scored a third time as the third wheel on a hook and ladder that began with a quick out from Luce to Joey Brennan. That TD covered 25 yards, the last 20 by Conant.

“Ryan Conant ran like a steam engine in britches tonight,” said Winthrop coach Joel Stoneton. “We needed that, because we don’t want to have to ask Travis to throw it all over the place.”

Pamphrey added 13 carries for 76 yards on the ground. Brennan grabbed four receptions for 102 yards through the air.

It all added up to 439 total yards and the end of a three-week slump for what was September’s hottest team in the Campbell Conference.

No. 3 Winthrop (7-2) snapped a two-game losing skid and advanced to the regional semifinals for the fourth straight year. The Ramblers will meet Saturday’s Lisbon-Jay winner next weekend.

“It’s just one win,” cautioned Stoneton. “It’s exciting for the kids to come out and play a game like this. The last couple weeks they never gave up.”

Pamphrey and Conant sandwiched first-half touchdown runs around a 62-yard scoring strike from Luce to Brennan for a quick 20-0 lead.

Brennan split two defenders on a quick slant, and Luce hit him in mid-stride for the Ramblers’ second home run in as many weeks. They hooked up for an 85-yard TD last week, Winthrop’s lone score in a 14-6 loss at Lisbon.

“We just put that play in this week,” Luce said. “We knew we had to get the passing game going again. It killed them last time.”

Winthrop beat No. 6 Dirigo by an almost identical 40-8 score in their Sept. 11 meeting at Dixfield.

“We knew the slants were coming, but we couldn’t stop them,” said Dirigo coach Doug Gilbert. “Our kids back there are young, two sophomores, but you’d think after eight games they have a little more experience.”

Dirigo (5-4) drove 61 yards to its only score late in the half. Ben Holmes (12-for-22, 141 yards) connected with Caleb Hall from 20 yards away with 56 seconds remaining.

An ensuing onside kick attempt traveled only one of the required 10 yards, however. And even though the Dirigo defense stopped Winthrop on downs at the 23-yard line, the mental anguish seemed to linger.

The Cougars muffed Winthrop’s squib kick to start the second half. Derek Pamphrey recovered for the Ramblers.

Zach Barter pounced on a fumbled exchange for a takeaway on Dirigo’s first play from scrimmage in the half. Pamphrey added an interception later in the period.

In a quarter that saw Winthrop take 19 snaps to Dirigo’s five, the lead increased to 27-6 on a 16-yard aerial from Luce to Colby Laflamme.

“That was it for us. We gave them back the ball twice before we even had it,” Gilbert said.

Conant barreled in from 3 yards out on the first play of the fourth quarter, then capped the night with his tiptoe down the home sideline after the lateral.

Travis Hutchins notched an interception and a sack to lead the Winthrop defense. He also anchored the offensive line with Chris Halligan, Tyler Reeve, Chris Bowers and Travis Sherman.

“Those guys gave me time to throw all night,” Luce said. “It was tough to block in this mud.”

Spencer Ross, Mike Smith, Ryan Lemay, Jacob Weston, John Calden and Arik Fenstermacher leave Dirigo as the most successful senior class in the history of the program. The defending Class C champions were 30-10 in their four years.

koakes@sunjournal.com

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