BANGOR – There was a time when Mark McEwen Jr. was scared to death of anyone dressed in a Brewer High School football uniform.

Of course, he was only 4 years old.

McEwen has since grown up to become the starting quarterback for the Bangor High School Rams. Needless to say, the site of the Orange and Black no longer intimidates him.

McEwen and the rest of the Rams will see plenty of the Witches on Friday night at Cameron Stadium as a veteran Bangor team and a young Brewer squad go helmet to helmet on the gridiron for the 95th time since 1903. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

While the aura surrounding the tradition rich Bangor-Brewer game affects every player on the field, it’s a little more special for Mark McEwen Jr.

He’s following in a long line of McEwens who have suited up for this game. The ironic part is that he is the first McEwen to suit up for Bangor.

McEwen’s father, Mark Sr., and his uncles Rod and Rick, all wore the Orange and Black of Brewer High School during their playing days.

“I took a lot of abuse, a lot of teasing,” said Mark Jr., who quarterbacked the Rams to an 8-3 record last season. “It wasn’t really from Dad, but his brothers. They like to give me stuff about being the first McEwen at Bangor. It didn’t bother me. I kind of liked it.”

When he was young, Mark Jr. remembers seeing one of his uncles in their football uniform and being scared of him. He admits to attending a Brewer-Orono game with his dad and sitting on the Brewer sideline.

“I didn’t cheer though,” he said.

While the younger McEwen swallowed some pride to do that, the rest of the McEwen family finds their plight a little different. After years of cheering for Brewer, their support, albeit temporary, falls to Bangor.

“With me and my brothers, we’ve pretty much converted over to Bangor fans,” said Mark Sr., a former Brewer linemen. “At least in the games he plays.

“It is different. Once he graduates I’ll probably be more on the fence. With him not there, though, I don’t know how quick the old loyalty will come back. Probably quicker than I think.”

The game has changed a lot since the older McEwens played for Brewer. What was once a traditional end-of-season game that attracted upto 10,000 fans, this season’s preseason game is an exhibition that will draw a couple of thousand.

“The exhibition game is nice, but the only reason they play it is because its Bangor-Brewer,” Mark Sr. said. “I’d love to see Brewer football come back and I think (Coach) Donnie (Farnham) will do it. The fans would really turn out. It wouldn’t be just our family. There are a lot of people who used to live for the Bangor-Brewer game.”

According to the younger McEwen, the fans may not support the game like they once did, but it still means plenty to the players.

As a starting safety during his freshman year, McEwen bragged to the Brewer side of the family about the Witches chance’s that year.

“I wanted to beat them for that reason,” Mark Jr. said.

Brewer went out and beat the Rams 22-7.

“That hurt,” Mark Jr. added. “I was really cocky that year. I never thought there would be a way we could lose the game. It proved to be a very valuable lesson. It taught me how to handle losing.”

“It was a good experience for him to find out that you don’t just walk out onto the football field and win a game,” the elder McEwen added.

While the McEwens have adapted to their new roles as Bangor fans rather well, the person getting the most satisfaction out of it might be Bangor coach Gabby Price.

Said Mark Sr., “Everytime Gabby sees one of my brothers wearing a Bangor hat, he’ll always point it out and say, `Nice hat.’ ”