Bangor rolls by Cony Early big plays spark winners

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BANGOR – The game’s first play began is slow motion, a short kick bouncing aimlessly down the field.

But once Tyler Heber gained control, slow motion became fast forward, as the 5-foot-6 senior returned the opening kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown Friday night to propel Bangor to a 45-0 Pine Tree Conference Class A football victory over Cony of Augusta at Cameron Stadium.

“At first I thought Nick Payson was going to it pick up, and then it came right to me,” Heber said. “The hole opened up huge, and I just went. Usually a play like that develops slow, but the hole opened up so quick.”

Heber’s return was the first of four touchdowns the Rams scored in the game’s first 9 minutes, 16 seconds to blow the Homecoming contest open and send 6-1 Bangor to its fifth consecutive victory.

“We always talk about the kick game, and tonight Tyler took the first one back to the house and then it kind of rolled,” said Bangor coach Mark Hackett, whose team has outscored its last three opponents by a combined 106-7.

“We have a lot of confidence anyway, but when you start out with the opening kickoff for a touchdown things are going to be tough for the other team.”

After Heber made the game’s initial statement, Cony then got a dose of Mike Prentiss, who scored the first two times he carried the ball on runs of 58 and 79 yards.

Prentiss’ first score came on Bangor’s second play from scrimmage, a blast off left tackle.

After Cony then moved the ball to the Bangor 21 before a fourth-and-6 pass went incomplete, the senior tailback took a first-down handoff from quarterback Shaun Sullivan, weaved through a succession of would-be tacklers and raced to the end zone for his 16th touchdown of the season.

Heber (11 carries, 86 yards) added the second of his three touchdowns on the night on a 23-yard run with 2:44 left in the opening quarter to extend the Bangor lead to 28-0. That play was set up when Payson forced a fumble by Cony punt returner Chris Gay and teammate Ricky Dexter recovered.

By the end of the period, Bangor had 177 rushing yards on just six attempts. For the game, the Rams rushed 37 times for 344 yards, with Prentiss going for 209 yards on just 10 tries before sitting out the second half on offense. Prentiss is now over 1,350 yards for the season.

“When the line blocks like they did and with the backs we have, a lot of good things happen,” Hackett said “Everyone just plays hard every play, because they know if they’re not playing well someone else is going to come in for them, and that competition is really nice.”

It was all too much for 3-4 Cony, whose losses have come to teams (Bangor, Deering, Mt. Blue and Skowhegan) that entered Friday night’s schedule with a combined 20-4 record.

We’re disappointed,” said Cony coach Tom Hinds. “They’re a great football team. We’ve played great ones before and we’ve got a couple more left, but we’re just disappointed we didn’t match their physical play.

“They’re bigger, faster and stronger. We knew that already, but we’re very disappointed the game got away so quick, so early.”

From that explosive offensive start it was left to Bangor’s defense to preserve its second straight shutout and third of the season.

Cony’s best drive came early in the second quarter, a 17-play march inside the Bangor 20. But a Trevor Lagrange sack of Gay forced Cony into a fourth-and-11 from the 17, and a Gay pass to Troy Pierce netted just seven yards.

“Our defense really has a lot of pride,” Hackett said.

Jordan Heath, who made all six of his extra-point kicks, added a 27-yard field goal late in the second quarter to give Bangor a 31-0 halftime lead.

The Rams added touchdowns on their first two possessions of the second half, on a 2-yard run by Heber and an 18-yard pass from Sullivan to tight end P.J. Dowe.

Senior running back Ricky Brown led Cony offensively with 78 yards on 12 rushes.

BANGOR 45, CONY 0

Cony (3-4) 0 0 0 0 ? 0

Bangor (6-1) 28 3 14 0 ? 45

B?Heber 78 kickoff return (Heath kick)

B?Prentiss 58 run (Heath kick)

B?Prentiss 79 run (Heath kick)

B?Heber 23 run (Heath kick)

B?Heath 27 field goal

B?Heber 2 run (Heath kick)

B?Dowe 18 pass from Sullivan (Heath kick)

Cony Bangor

First downs 7 15

Rushing att.-yards 37-151 37-344

Passing comp.-att. 4-14 2-5

Passing yards 25 52

Total yards 176 396

Punts-avg. 4-34.6 3-27.3

Fumbles-lost 4-2 1-1

Intercepted by 0 1

Penalties-yards 3-33 6-45

Rushing

Cony: Brown 12-78, Whitlock 9-26, Pierce 6-16, Gay 5-11, Chabot 2-11, A. Goldhammer 5-9; Bangor: Prentiss 10-209, Heber 11-86, N. Payson 5-30, Schmersal 3-9, B. Payson 1-7, Ingraham 4-6, Silver 3-(minus 3)

Passing

Cony: Gay 2-7-0-22, Hinds 2-7-1-3; Bangor: Sullivan 2-5-0-52

Receiving

Cony: Pierce 2-22, R. Goldhammer 1-7, Gayne 1-(minus 4); Bangor: Cassidy 1-34, Dowe 1-18

A?1,400 (est.)