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After a one-day delay, Bangor High School officially begins its quest to defend its 1995 Pine Tree Conference championship and get back to the Class A state championship game.
The Rams, who were supposed to meet Edward Little at Walton Field in Auburn Friday night in their season opener, will play at 1:30 p.m. today instead because the installation of Edward Little’s new lights took longer than expected.
The game could be an intriguing matchup: a young EL team with equal offensive balance against a Bangor team that loves to run behind a solid offensive line, but can take to the air behind a solid quarterback-split end combination.
“They threw the ball 24 times in three quarters last week and have a fullback who is a good, tough runner,” said Bangor coach Gabby Price.
That fullback is the Eddies’ Jeremy Christl, a bruising, 6-foot, 230-pound junior who could be one of the best at his position in the state.
Complementing EL’s running game is another junior, quarterback Matt Simpson. If EL can develop some reliable targets for Simpson to hit, or even a go-to guy, the young Eddies could be a surprise this season.
“Certainly, anytime someone throws the ball a lot, there’s always something more to be concerned about,” said Price.
Simpson has a bit of a score to settle too, after being manhandled by the Rams at Cameron Stadium last year in the only game he started. He threw for 84 yards, but was intercepted three times.
Bangor already has a go-to guy, No. 81. Split end Jason St. Pierre looks like a good bet to improve on an already impressive junior season as he’s quickly emerged as junior QB Tom Waterman’s favorite target.
Bangor’s run game is keyed by a talented line made up of converted tight ends Seth Carlisle and Brandon Haney, tackles Pat Sarto and Caleb Smith, and center Jeff Guerette. Senior tailback Pat Estey looked impressive against Brewer last week, and is a threat to score anytime he gets into the open field.
“They have a 1-2 punch in Waterman and Estey. We’d like to contain the Waterman kid because they run a lot of option,” said EL coach Gene Keene.
Brewer at John Bapst, Cameron Stadium, Bangor, 7 p.m.
In another cross-class matchup of the opening weeks, the Witches will take on the Crusaders in a game in which tempo could be the deciding factor.
The Witches hope to utilize their speed in the open field and will try to open the game up early, while John Bapst hopes to control the game by keeping the action near the line of scrimmage.
“If they get out in the open field against us, their speed scares me to death. If we can keep them away from the big play, I think we can fight with them,” said first-year Bapst coach Matt Clark.
The only injury on either team coming in is John Schwarze. Brewer’s starting free safety suffered a concussion against Bangor and his status is game-to-game.
Other local games Saturday are Messalonskee at Dexter and Foxcroft Academy at Winslow.
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