Rams roll to big victory Defending state champs top Vikes for 4th straight

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BANGOR – This is the Bangor football team people expected to see this season.

The defending Class A state champions won their fourth straight game, only this time they made it look easy as they totally dominated an undermanned Oxford Hills of South Paris squad 39-0 on a clear and comfortable fall Friday night at Cameron Stadium.

After the Rams won three games by a total margin of 12 points, head coach Mark Hackett was happy to win one without having to go to overtime or mount a last-minute drive. Despite the fact the visiting Vikings were without eight suspended players – six of them starters – due to athletic code violations, he wasn’t about to take them lightly.

“We’ve been in so many close games, we wouldn’t play the Girl Scouts and take them lightly,” Hackett said.

Bangor’s interior line on both sides of the ball was aggressive, relentless, and overpowering as the 4-2 Rams dominated the game from the outset.

“The line on the defense was able to stop the run so we could play pass coverage with all the defensive backs doubling up, and on offense, it looked like we could do almost anything running the ball,” said Hackett. “It all starts with the line.”

The offensive line of center Conor Stephens, tackles Kyle Oliver and Danny Day, and guards Trevor Lagrange and Travis Barry, plus fullback John Huhn paved the way for the Rams’ run game as it gained 216 yards on 49 carries.

Defensively, defensive end Steve Fergerson had three tackles for a loss and was awarded a game ball for leading an effort that limited the Vikings to 13 total yards in the first half and 64 for the game. His effort wasn’t surprising to him.

“My grandfather hasn’t made a game I’ve played in for 10 years and he made it up here tonight, so I told coach I was going to earn a game ball this weekend,” Fergerson said, whose 62-year-old grandfather drove 21/2 hours from Lubec to see his grandson. “I wanted to give him a good show.”

Things went so well for Bangor, even when circumstances beyond anyone’s control caused problems, they failed to slow the Rams down.

After gaining 16 yards on a reverse run to the left side, split end Mike Prentiss lost a contact lens when his helmet came down into this face. Without a spare lens, Prentiss was going to have his father go home and get some, but assistant coach Daryl O’Kresik popped out one of his and offered it to Prentiss.

Prentiss put some solution on it, popped it in, and played the next 41 minutes with it.

“I got used to it and then I just played with it,” said Prentiss, who went on to catch five passes for 46 yards and a touchdown. He finished with a game-high six for 53.

Without its starting running backs, Oxford Hills’ ground attack was anemic and Brent Grenier, the Pine Tree Conference’s No. 3 quarterback, was held to three completions and negative yardage against Bangor’s double coverage.

Head coach Paul Bickford, whose Vikings are now 1-5, made no excuses for his undermanned team.

“We had some new guys in there obviously, but I don’t really want to get into it,” he said. “That’s all behind us, plain and simple. I think the biggest thing tonight was the average starting position for both teams. We couldn’t sustain anything offensively.”

Bangor, which had possession of the ball for just over 15 of the game’s first 24 minutes scored on its first four possessions with drives of 10, six, 11 and six plays. The Rams also got a safety when a bad snap on an OH punt attempt sailed into the end zone in the second quarter.

BANGOR 39, OXFORD HILLS 0

Oxford Hills (1-5) 0 0 0 0 ? 0

Bangor (4-2) 10 16 13 0 ? 39

B ? Largay 5 run (Achorn kick)

B ? Achorn 18 field goal

B ? Prentiss 12 pass from Ray (Achorn kick)

B ? safety, bad snap on punt attempt recovered in end zone

B ? Dow 8 pass from Ray (Achorn kick)

B ? Heber 8 run (Achorn kick)

B ? Heber 30 run (kick blocked)

Oxford Hills Bangor

First downs 4 16

Rushing att.-yards 29-51 49-216

Passing comp.-att. 4-10 9-12

Passing yards 13 79

Total yards 64 295

Punts-avg. 7-25.0 2-32.5

Fumbles-lost 2-0 1-0

Intercepted by 0 2

Penalties-yards 2-15 1-15

Rushing

Oxford Hills: Olmstead 9-20, Eells 6-18, Tuominen 2-14, Grenier 4-0, Smith 8-(-1); Bangor: Heber 13-81, Largay 17-71, Huhn 9-36, Ray 4-17, Prentiss 1-16, St. John 1-0, Gallant 4-(-5)

Passing

Oxford Hills: Cote 1-2-1-15, Grenier 3-8-1-(-2); Bangor: Ray 8-11-0-76, St. John 1-1-0-3

Receiving

Oxford Hills: Eells 1-15, Smith 2-5, McVety 1-(-7); Bangor: Prentiss 6-53, Day 1-15, Dow 1-8, Carson 1-3

A? 600 (est.)