As the 2001 season – also known as 1 AG (after Gabby) – dawns for Bangor, it’s apparent that very few things will deviate from former head coach Gabby Price’s formula for high school football success.

The Rams will continue to utilize the I-formation on offense. The ever-present 5-2 defensive alignment? Still present and accounted for. The numbers game is as impressive as ever with 62 players out for the varsity squad. Expectations? Still high as they’re squarely centered around a return to the Class A state championship game.

“The basic formula is still the same: Work hard, play hard, and have fun. Gabby taught me that and it works,” said longtime assistant and new head coach Mark Hackett.

Of course, the atmosphere at Cameron Stadium will take some getting used to without a familiar hoarse, raspy voice cutting through the field noise, exhorting players and yelling at officials from the sidelines.

This year, Hackett’s voice will be heard as the Rams forge a new era after Price ended his second tour of duty and 18 seasons overall at Bangor with a Pine Tree Conference title.

The retirement of a coach and the graduation losses of eight offensive and five defensive starters from a team which came up only six points short of a state championship have failed to create a sense of worry. Why should there be? The Rams routinely deal with wholesale graduation losses by simply plugging in the next batch of talent, which is more than ready to take advantage of starting opportunities after collectively biding its time and learning.

“A lot of people say there isn’t much experience here, but I disagree,” Hackett said. “You’re usually as good as your seniors and we have a great group of seniors.”

Players such as senior captains Ben Guerette, Derrick Shain, Chris Bombardier, and Buddy Nickerson are ready to assume active leadership roles and pick up where the previous team left off: another drive to the state championship game.

“I think that losing that game last year is gonna help us a lot this year. In that locker room last year after we lost, I looked at the seniors’ faces … and it was just horrible,” Bombardier recalled. “As bad as I felt, I felt even worse for them because I was thinking in the back of my head that I still had one more year and I was going to learn from this.”

Especially for this year’s senior players, that locker room moment was the unofficial starting point of this season.

“At the start of the season, I looked back at that game to kind of get refocused and remember what it is we had to do to get to that point,” Nickerson said.

It’s that kind of attitude that has made it easy for Hackett to decide to loosen the tight control Price had on the team.

“Gabby went and made it absolutely intense and took care of absolutely everything because that’s what the program needed and that’s his style,” Hackett said. “And it’s because his approach has been so successful, I think I can be a little looser.

“You can let the reins out a little bit when they’ve been tight for so long, as long as you have the right kids, and these are the right kids because of their maturity.”

It’s because of the maturity of Bangor’s juniors and seniors that Hackett will give them more responsibility and freedom, on and off the field.

“He doesn’t even come into the locker room after practice. He trusts us,” said Nickerson, the new starting tailback and strong safety. “This is the biggest opportunity I’ve ever had. What’s exciting is I think we’re gonna spread it out more on offense.”

Although it affects his ballcarrying load, Nickerson’s happy about a new style which likely won’t produce any 40-carry games for Bangor backs.

“We’re going to run the ball. We’re going to pass the ball. We’re going to run option,” said Shain. “I think this year we’ll have more guys touch the ball on offense than we have in the past couple years. It’ll be more fun for everybody.”

Defense looks strong again, especially in the secondary and linebacking corps.

“Defense is what got us there last year and defense is the pride of Bangor High,” Bombardier said. “It’s what will lead us again this year.”

Price’s retirement shuffles the coaching lineup a bit as Daryl O’Kresik moved to Bangor from Baltimore and became an assistant coach in charge of receivers and defensive backs. John Tennett, Hackett’s nephew, is still offensive coordinator and Hackett will still call the defense. Ironically, both Tennett and Hackett applied to be head coach.

“John’s my nephew and we both got together and hashed things out before we even applied,” said Hackett, who has been an assistant at Bangor for 16 years. “Now that we’re where we are, it couldn’t be better. He’s told me he couldn’t be happier.”

Each year, the senior

captains pick a team motto. This year’s is “You win

not by chance, but by preparation.”

“You have to take care of every detail, whether it’s practice or a game,” said Guerette, who has been switched from tackle to center on the offensive line. “We learned how important every little thing is when you’re trying to win a championship, and we want to get back there.”

BANGOR RAMS

2000 results: 9-2, Pine Tree Conference champions

Head coach: Mark Hackett, 1st year

Key players: Ben Guerette, C-DE, Sr.; Derrick Shain, TE-LB, Sr.; Chris Bombardier, QB-FS, Sr.; Buddy Nickerson, TB-SS, Sr.; Justin Schmersal, WB-CB, Sr.; Corey Mayhew, OT-DT, Sr.; J.J. Jackson, OG-DT, Sr.; D.J.

Johnson, FB-NG, Sr.; Conor Stevens, OT-DT, Jr.

Outlook: The Rams may be one of the few teams in the state to lose their head coach and 13 starters and still be considered a good bet to go a long way through the playoffs. Bangor has plenty of athletes ready to fill the starters’ void and may be even hungrier than last year after coming so close to a gold ball last year. The lines have a good mix of athletic and big players who should be well-suited to Bangor’s aggressive defense and more multi-faceted offense.