BANGOR – “Poor Bangor,” several hopeful members of the opposition mockingly lamented this offseason.

Gone is four-year starter, three-sport star, and NEWS All-Maine first-teamer Tommy Waterman. Gone is athletic forward and matchup mismatch Mike Arsenault.

Surely with the loss of about 75 percent of their scoring punch and leadership, this would be the year the Rams come back to earth.

Well, Roger Reed’s Rams sent a message in their season debut Saturday evening at Bangor High School: Don’t count on it.

Despite a younger roster and a revamped starting lineup with three new members, Bangor dismanted Caribou 77-40 behind a trademark stifling defense and solid shooting.

“In the early minutes of the ballgame – I don’t know what their percentage was – it seemed like they weren’t missing a shot,” said Caribou coach Jim Carter. “We threw different types of defenses at them – we used the 1-3-1, 3-2, 2-2-1 and man – and they handled them all well.”

For the record, the Rams shot 67 percent (10-for-15) from the field in the first quarter en route to a respectable 49 percent for the game.

“I was worried about them zoning us because we haven’t worked against a zone, but we were able to create enough turnovers and hit enough shots that we handled it pretty well,” said Reed.

Ah yes, turnovers. The Rams’ patented brand of man-to-man pressure created plenty: 11 in the first half and 14 more in the second.

Leading the charge defensively and offensively was rookie starter Nick Loukes, who picked up five of Bangor’s 13 steals and also led the Rams with 19 points.

Meanwhile, Duane Peoples took the phrase “Take one for the team” to a new level. Less than a week after almost single-handedly taking apart preseason contender Lawrence of Fairfield with 19 points in the second half of a 47-44 Rams’ exhibition win, Peoples didn’t even take a shot.

Instead, the 6-foot guard made a couple of steals and dished out a game-high seven assists.

“He’s a very unselfish player and an outstanding kid to coach,” Reed said. “And he’s very willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the team.”

But the Rams required no major sacrifices Saturday as, on the strength of returning starter Elliott Blackstone’s effort, they took control early and never looked back. The 6-1 guard lit up the Vikings for 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the first half.

Blackstone says the departure of Waterman and Arsenault and the perceived vulnerability of Bangor hasn’t taken much pressure off.

“Actually not really, because they leave big shoes to fill,” he said. “Maybe the pressure isn’t as great since we’re not defending state champs, but it doesn’t make it any easier. We still have very high goals.”

About the only shred of positive news for the Vikings came from the foul line, where they shot 72 percent – 42 percent better than their performance from the field.

Sophomore center-forward James Sam led the Vikings with 16 points and five rebounds.

Saturday afternoon, the Bangor girls also served notice their youth movement shouldn’t make them any less a contender as they made the visiting Vikings feel downright unwelcome with a 63-27 victory.

It was a sensational day for sophomores as Terra Curtis led a balanced Rams’ scoring attack with 15 points and fellow forward Alison Smith had nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Every Bangor player but one scored. In fact, eight different players scored in the pivotal second quarter, when the Rams turned a 9-6 edge into a 36-12 halftime lead.

“This is the most athletic team we’ve had in quite awhile,” said Bangor coach Tom Tennett. “You’re always nervous with young kids about how exactly they’re going to do once they get into actual game pressure, but they did very well.”

Ashley Soucie led Caribou with nine points.

Rams 77, Vikings 40

Caribou boys (0-1) Bangor (1-0)

Name G AG F AF TP Name G AG F AF TP

Anderson 0 0 0 0 0 Vanidestine 2 3 0 0 5

Holabird 1 8 2 2 4 Loukes 9 16 0 0 19

Landeen 0 1 0 0 0 Gildart 3 7 1 2 9

Gorneault 0 1 5 6 5 Peoples 0 0 0 0 0

Corrigan 0 1 0 0 0 Blackstone 7 9 0 0 17

Thibodeau 0 0 0 0 0 Crane 1 2 0 0 2

Griffeth 1 2 0 0 2 St. Pierre 0 3 0 0 0

Umphrey 1 2 0 1 2 Campbell 1 4 5 8 7

Sam 5 14 6 7 16 Bradford 3 4 0 0 6

Giles 0 1 3 3 3 Johnson 1 3 0 1 2

Lajoie 0 0 0 0 0 Chadbourne 0 1 0 0 0

Martin 2 6 2 2 6 Clarkson 1 2 0 1 2

Blanchette 1 1 0 2 2 Bouchard 2 5 0 0 4

Quirk 2 6 0 0 4

Civiello 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 11 37 18 25 40 Totals 32 65 6 12 77

Caribou 12 23 30 40

Bangor 23 38 57 77

3-pt. goals: Caribou (0-4): Corrigan 0-1, Sam 0-1, Holabird 0-2; Bangor (7-12): Blackstone 3-4, Gildart 2-2, Vanidestine 1-1, Loukes 1-3, St. Pierre 0-2

Attendance: 200 (est.)

Preliminary: Bangor JVs 79-38

Rams 63, Vikings 27

Caribou girls (0-1)

Gagnon 1-0-2, Kane 1-0-2, Soucie 2-5-9, Scott 0-1-1, Monahan, Jose, Willey, Nason 1-2-5, Cyr 1-4-6, Butler, Cole-Karagory Bangor girls (1-0)

Dionne 1-0-2, Strout 3-0-7, Achorn 1-0-3, Capehart, Miller 2-0-4, Frazier 3-1-8, Curtis 4-5-15, Wright 1-1-3, Smith 3-3-9, Kenny 3-0-6, Crockett 2-0-4, Warner 1-0-2 Caribou (0-1) 6 12 17 27 Bangor (1-0) 9 36 48 63

3-pt. goals: Strout, Achorn, Frazier, Curtis 2