BANGOR – In a decidedly rare development for Bangor football, the Rams used the pass to set up the run on a clear, cool Friday night at Cameron Stadium. In a decidedly common development for the Rams, they won.

Senior quarterback Chris Bombardier passed for a season-high 145 yards – all in the first half – and senior tailback Buddy Nickerson ran for 78 of his game-high 127 yards in the second half to lead the unbeaten Rams to a 21-7 victory over tough but winless Lawrence of Fairfield.

“I don’t think they’d given up more than 17 points in a game all year,” said Bombardier, who completed eight of 13 passes. “We wanted to come out and pass the ball because they play a deep, deep cover 3 defense and that opened up the run for us.”

The 5-0 Rams found themselves behind early as Lawrence’s defense stopped them cold three straight plays after having a 2nd-and-8 at the L-14 on the game’s opening drive. Then the Bulldogs went on the march as halfback Keith Palmer turned a sweep to the left into a 38-yard gain on first down. The ‘Dogs drove 81 yards in 15 plays and five minutes, 22 seconds. Quarterback Matt Kent capped the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Pete McLaughlin on a quick slant pattern up the middle.

It got worse before getting better for the Rams as they fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Lawrence’s Josh Austin recovered at the B-28, but the Rams’ defense held firm and Justin Schmersal intercepted a pass at the B-5 on third down and brought it back 20 yards.

Bangor then embarked on a five-play TD drive highlighted by a nifty, 69-yard catch by flanker Zak Ray on third-and-7 from the B-28. Ray ran 10 yards out to the right flat, caught the ball, stepped right to avoid the defender right in front of him, cut left and back to the right to get loose, and then sprinted to the L-3 before being caught from behind. Nickerson finished things off with a 3-yard TD run.

After forcing Lawrence to go three-and-out, Bangor drove again – this time 60 yards in seven plays, the last one another Nickerson TD run (1 yard) up the middle with 7:57 left in the half.

Bangor embarked on a marathon drive lasting 17 plays and seven minutes, 12 seconds as Nickerson carried the ball 15 times. The 68-yard drive would have ended with another Nickerson TD run, but an illegal blocking penalty on fourth-and-goal forced Bangor to try a field goal, but the kick was blocked by Mike Mestieri.

Bangor and Nickerson would score again as the Rams engineered a 10-play, 60-yard drive prolonged by a Lawrence roughing-the-kicker penalty on a Bangor punt. Five plays later, Nickerson scored after taking an option pitch from Bombardier and rumbling 8 yards up the right side.

Penalties hampered the ‘Dogs, who committed 13 for 85 yards.

“We’re young, but we play hard,” said coach Brad Bishop, whose Bulldogs are 0-5. “We made too many mistakes tonight and that killed us. We went toe to toe with them, but the difference is they have more finesse than we do and they have more athletes.”

They also had outstanding play from offensive linemen Ben Guerette, J.J. Jackson, Trevor LaGrange, Danny Logan, Corey Mayhew, and Conor Stephens.

“The line came under a lot of scrutiny this week. We pushed ’em a little and they responded,” said Bangor head coach Mark Hackett. “Buddy didn’t like last week either. He had something to prove, too.”

Derrick Shain led the defense.

“We weren’t going to take them for granted because they’re a tough, hard-hitting team,” he said.

RAMS 21, BULLDOGS 7

Lawrence (0-5) 7 0 0 0? 7

Bangor (5-0) 0 14 0 7?21

L ? McLaughlin 11 pass from Kent (J. Ackley kick)

B ? Nickerson 3 run (Achorn kick)

B ? Nickerson 1 run (Achorn kick)

B ? Nickerson 8 run (Achorn kick)

Lawrence Bangor

First downs 6 16

Rushing att.-yards 35-119 53-233

Passing comp.-att. 3-7 8-13

Passing yards 44 145

Total yards 163 378

Punts-avg. 6-36.5 1-28.0

Fumbles-lost 1-0 3-1

Intercepted by 1 2

Penalties-yards 13-85 4-30

Rushing

Lawrence: Palmer 9-65, R. Ackley 10-23, Walker 5-16, Kent 11-15; Bangor: Nickerson 32-127, Bombardier 7-43, Largay 7-26, Blier 2-18, Schmersal 2-17, Huhn 2-2, Heber 1-0

Passing

Lawrence: Kent 3-7-44-2; Bangor: Bombardier 8-13-145-1

Receiving

Lawrence: McLaughlin 2-26, Thibodeau 1-18; Bangor: Ray 3-82, Prentiss 2-39, Largay 1-14, Blier 1-5, Schmersal 1-5

A? 600 (est.)