Barron FG gives Bangor win Defenses reign for Rams, MB

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BANGOR – If there had been seats on the Bangor sideline at Cameron Stadium, the football team would have been on the edges of them.

That’s how senior T.J. Vanidestine described the Rams’ mood as they watched teammate Tyson Barron line up for what would be a 37-yard field-goal attempt early in the first quarter of Bangor’s game against Mt. Blue Friday night.

If the Rams had known how important Barron’s attempt was, the suspense might have been unbearable.

But then again, Bangor has watched Barron make 50-yarders – easily – in practice. So it was with a sort of nervous confidence that the Rams watched Barron’s kick clear the uprights about 41/2 minutes into the game.

And that was it. Bangor emerged from a back-and-forth battle of turnovers, field position, and defense with a 3-0 victory over the Cougars.

“We’ve seen him kick them in practice time and time again, the O-line blocked well again, and Brian Hackett got off an awesome snap, and Tyson gave it a boot,” Vanidestine said. “I really thought we were going to score again. But it held up.”

Both teams were 2-0 before the game, which was a Pine Tree Conference Class A matchup.

Mt. Blue, which has traditionally been known for its passing, has turned to more of a ground offense this year, but the Ram defense limited the Cougars to 105 yards on 37 carries. And when Mt. Blue needed to pass late in the game, Bangor’s defensive backfield held up.

“The linebackers and the defensive ends did an incredible job of playing the pass tonight,” said Vanidestine, a starter at cornerback. “We don’t usually do that on the defense. Alex Gallant and I just play over the top and pick it off, and it worked out well.”

Mt. Blue played tough defense, too. Bangor has averaged around 300 yards per game on the ground but managed just 165 Friday. Nick Payson had 111 yards on 14 carries.

The Rams did their best job of moving the ball in their first series, which set up Barron’s field goal. He credited the Bangor’s offensive line.

“[I just had to] keep my head down and follow through,” he said. “I can’t ever thank my line enough. I don’t think they ever get enough credit. … Kyle Oliver and [Andrew Trundy] and Anderson, they’re three of our biggest guys.”

After three downs in which Bangor moved just two yards, quarterback Brian Hackett completed a 19-yard pass to Vanidestine and got the Rams to Mt. Blue’s 38-yard line. Ricky Dexter ran for 10 yards and another first down and Aaron Gallant reeled off an 8-yarder to get Barron into position.

“We’ve had unbelievable runs,” Barron said. “Each play is important. Somebody needed to step up and he was the one to do it.”

Barron’s kick became even more important late because the 20-yard line was as deep into Cougar territory as Bangor would get.

“We needed to get points on the board,” Bangor coach Mark Hackett said. “We thought we could hold them down a little, but we knew their defense would be tough.”

Mt. Blue didn’t fare much better, although the Cougars finally moved the ball on the ground in the third quarter.

They got to the Bangor 34 before fumbling the ball, which was recovered by Bangor’s Nick Buchanan. But the Rams didn’t have it for long – Mt. Blue’s Matt Burnham intercepted a Hackett pass, setting up a series from the Bangor 46.

Jordan Stevens (12 carries, 49 yards) bulled his way to a 9-yard carry. Three plays later David DiGravio had an 18-yard run to get to the Bangor 22.

“They were coming so hard … and we just started to down-block that and we got outside,” Parlin said. “Will Plancon, who didn’t block well the first half, made some nice blocks. We were getting ready to take him out if he didn’t block in the first series and he did.”

But the Cougars sputtered with a holding penalty, and then Bangor’s Alex Gallant picked off a Mason Barker pass.

RAMS 3, COUGARS 0

Mt. Blue (2-1) 0 0 0 0 ? 0

Bangor (3-0) 3 0 0 0 ? 3

B ? Barron 37 FG

Mt. Blue Bangor

First downs 7 10

Rushing att.-yards 37-105 39-165

Passing comp.-att. 6-18 9-15

Passing yards 32 83

Total yards 137 248

Punts-avg. 8-36.1 7-29.2

Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-1

Intercepted by 1 1

Penalties-yards 5-45 7-53

Rushing

Mt. Blue: Stevens 12-49, DiGravio 8-22, Pingree 10-18, Barker 7-16; Bangor: Payson 14-111, Aa. Gallant 12-48, Dexter 7-18, Vanidestine 1-3, Hackett 5-(minus 15)

Passing

Mt. Blue: Barker 6-18-1-32; Bangor: Hackett 9-15-1-83

Receiving

Mt. Blue: Plancon 1-12, DiGravio 2-8, Gray 1-5, Moloney 1-4, Rollins 1-3; Bangor: DeRosa 6-41, Russell 2-23, Vanidestine 1-19

A?700 (est.)