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BANGOR – Bangor head coach Mark Hackett called it a “magical” night. Edward Little head coach Gene Keene, Jr., just wanted to disappear after the first quarter.
Hackett’s top-seeded Rams made the most of early Edward Little miscues, piled up 29 points in the first quarter, and never looked back en route to a 45-8 Pine Tree Conference quarterfinal playoff win over the eighth-seeded Red Eddies on a crisp and chilly Friday night at Cameron Stadium.
The 9-0 Rams will host Southeast Division No. 2 seed Lewiston in a semifinal which will likely be played next Friday night.
“You can’t fumble the first play of the game and expect to be in the ballgame. You can’t give the other team three scores early and expect to be in the ball game,” said Keene, whose Eddies finish up 4-5.
After returning the opening kickoff eight yards to their own 15-yard line, the Eddies fumbled the ball away and the Rams took over on the EL-12. Four plays later, tailback Buddy Nickerson bulled four yards off right tackle for a touchdown on a fourth-and-2 carry and Bangor went up 7-0 two minutes into the game.
The Eddies then returned the next kickoff 21 yards to their 22, but punted three plays later and the Rams took over at midfield. A one-yard quarterback option run and rush for no gain later, split end Mike Prentiss caught a hitch pass from Chris Bombardier on the left side, broke a tackle and sprinted 49 yards for a touchdown.
A 17-yard E.L. kickoff return and incomplete pass later, the Eddies picked up their first down on an 18-yard pass from quarterback Jeff St. Pierre to Matt Capone. On the next play, Bryan Mooney was hit for a three-yard loss and fumbled the ball near Rams split end-cornerback Mike Prentiss, who immediately reached down, plucked the ball off the ground, and sprinted the other way for a 40-yard touchdown return.
“I just saw it laying there,” said the Bangor sophomore. “It was free, so I figured ‘What the heck, nobody picked it up,’ I might as well grab it and run.”
A two-point conversion rush by D.J. Johnson and the Rams were up 22-0 with 6:12 still remaining in the first.
The Eddies pierced Bangor territory on their next drive and kept the ball for seven plays, but had to punt near midfield and the Rams took over on their own 16. After a two-yard run by Robert Flynn, senior flanker Justin Schmersal got the ball on a counter play, shot through the middle almost untouched, raced to the left side and just ran away from everyone for an 82-yard run. Only nine minutes, 45 seconds had elapsed in the game.
“I don’t know if it’s only once a year or not – I hope it’s not – but every once in awhile you hit a game where everything goes right,” Hackett said. “Once it started going, it was hard to turn it off and I feel bad for Edward Little because they’re a good team.”
Bangor scored courtesy of a 33-yard field goal by Nick Achorn in the second quarter and then had two more big plays to cap the offensive explosion courtesy of a 32-yard TD pass from Bombardier to tight end Derrick Shain and a 47-yard TD run by sophomore and No. 3 tailback Tyler Heber in the third quarter.
Bangor’s stifling defense was led by defensive tackles J.J. Jackson and Cory Mayhew as well as linebacker Ben Bush, who received his first game ball for his efforts.
“We just go out there and know the big guys in the middle will have good games,” Mayhew said. “Once we get going, it’s like spark plugs firing. Everybody’s making plays, you’re hustling to the ball and our defense is playing great.”
Bangor’s defense limited the Eddies to 60 yards rushing and 106 passing, but did give up its first rushing touchdown of the season as E.L. QB Jeff St. Pierre ran about 50 yards as he broke to the right, nearly missed being sacked for a 10-yard loss, spun around, and sprinted right on a sweep, outracing Bangor’s defenders for an 11-yard TD run with 6:05 left to play.
RAMS 45, RED EDDIES 8
No. 8 Edward Little (4-5) 0 0 0 8? 8
No. 1 Bangor (9-0) 29 3 13 0?45
B ? Nickerson 4 run (Achorn kick)
B ? Prentiss 49 pass from Bombardier (Achorn kick)
B ? Prentiss 40 fumble recovery return (Johnson rush)
B ? Schmersal 82 run (Achorn kick)
B ? Achorn 33 field goal
B ? Shain 32 pass from Bombardier (Achorn kick)
B ? Heber 47 run (kick blocked)
EL ? St. Pierre 11 run (St. Pierre pass to Taylor)
Edward Little Bangor
First downs 8 9
Rushing att.-yards 26-60 37-247
Passing comp.-att. 8-24 6-10
Passing yards 106 117
Total yards 166 364
Punts-avg. 7-27.7 2-35.5
Fumbles-lost 4-2 4-1
Intercepted by 0 1
Penalties-yards 4-17 5-40
Rushing
Edward Little: Hunter 14-45, St. Pierre 6-20, Miller 2-3, Flynn 1-1, Mooney 3-(-9); Bangor: Schmersal 1-82, Largay 13-77, Heber 9-59, Payson 3-10, Johnson 1-6, Nickerson 4-6, Bombardier 2-4, Flynn 4-3
Passing
Edward Little: St. Pierre 8-22-0-106, Loignon 0-2-1-0; Bangor: Bombardier 6-10-0-117
Receiving
Edward Little: Capone 5-87, Miller 2-25, Taylor 1-(-6); Bangor: Prentiss 2-54, Shain 1-32, Hinton 2-31, Schmersal 1-0
A? 500 (est.)
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