Victory up for grabs for Bapst, Rockland

Friday night, Cameron Stadium was alive with the sounds of high school football as Bangor High and Mt. Blue met on the gridiron for a matchup of Class A teams.

Everything seemed so big. The crowd. The players. The hits. The efforts.

On Saturday, John Bapst plays host to Rockland High at Cameron Stadium in Bangor for a 7 p.m. tilt featuring two Class C teams struggling to attain .500.

Everything will seem so much smaller. The crowd. The players. The hits.

But not the efforts. Quite frankly, the efforts could be even bigger than Friday night’s output.

Both teams were underdogs in their respective openers – Bapst losing to Belfast 33-0, Rockland getting beat by Messalonskee 51-8.

Saturday’s game gives the players a “can-win” game. There are no favorites entering this one. Only two teams knowing either team can win.

Leading Bapst’s efforts are quarterback Ryan Thomas and running back Seth Burnes. When Bapst is on defense, J.C. Whitt, one of the top tacklers in LTC Class C, will lead the charge.

For the Tigers, Chris Nadeau will seek to find the end zone once again, after supplying Rockland with its only score against Messalonskee of Oakland last weekend. Josh Crafford and Isaac Carlson will also see action.

In other Saturday’s games:

Oxford Hills at Waterville, 1 p.m., at Drummond Field.

As Arte Johnson used to say on Laugh-In, “verrry interesting.”… Sure Waterville is defending PTC champs, returning key players such as QB Brian Scott and TB Bruce Genest, sure they beat Cheverus last weekend in impressive fashion, but OH did well against Western Maine’s early season favorite, Thornton Academy. Led ’em 21-20 entering the final quarter before TA scored 12 unanswered points to win…. Jeremy Tardiff rushed for 175 yards on 15 carries with three TDs…. Waterville’s defense, always tougher at home, will be tested…. Oxford Hills could become instant contender with an upset.

The rest of the schedule: Boothbay at Traip, Leavitt at Lisbon, Lewiston at Marshwood, Old Orchard at Fryeburg, Sanford at Thornton, Winthrop at Oak Hill