Bangor, Foxcroft open with victories Walton, Crews spark Rams

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BANGOR – Shane Walton and Jared Turcotte were on a collision course throughout Friday’s season-opening Pine Tree Conference Class A football game between Bangor and Lewiston at Cameron Stadium.

The night began with Walton stiff-arming the Lewiston star for extra yards en route to a 19-carry, 175-yard rushing performance.

The night ended with the 5-foot-8, 170-pound Walton giving up his body in a violent collision to stop the 6-1, 220-pound Turcotte a yard short of the goal line with 10.4 seconds left to clinch Bangor’s wild 42-35 victory over the Blue Devils.

Walton, who lay on the ground for several minutes after that tackle, got up under his own power and joined the team in its postseason celebration.

But his voice? That was still at the 1, leaving others to describe the game’s final dramatic moment.

“I was on the other side of the field,” said junior fullback-defensive back Kyle Vanidestine. “I could see Shane and Turcotte both going for the corner and I thought, “ooh, there’s going to be a collision. They collided hard, too.

“That was the play of the game, for sure.”

Walton’s tackle was in marked contrast to an encounter he had a year ago when Lewiston defeated the Rams. In that game, Turcotte stiff-armed Walton en route to a long run, and Walton suffered an injury on the play that lingered throughout the season.

“Tonight Shane came out and on the first or second play stiff-armed Turcotte to get some extra yards,” said Bangor coach Mark Hackett. “I think it set the tone for the game.”

While Lewiston relied heavily on its star, Bangor benefited from balance.

Senior wideout Tom Crews caught TD passes of 55 and 48 yards from junior quarterback Ian Edwards. Edwards also ran 10 yards for a score, while junior fullback Kyle Vanidestine rushed for 67 yards and two touchdowns and went 6-for-6 on extra-point kicks.

Turcotte rushed for 159 yards and two TDs on 28 carries. He also caught a 40-yard scoring pass from junior quarterback Mason Giroux and threw a 54-yard TD pass to junior wideout Alfonza Brooks.

These teams combined for 539 total yards during a crazy first half in which defense took a back seat to a field full of playmakers.

Bangor struck for a 7-0 lead 34 seconds into the game when Edwards found Crews open behind the defense for a 55-yard touchdown pass.

But Turcotte immediately countered with a 54-yard option pass to Brooks, and Ethan Gagnon made the first of his five extra points to forge a 7-7 tie just 57 seconds into the game.

Turcotte scored from 4 yards out and Vanidestine countered with a 3-yard TD run that capped off a 12-play, 95-yard drive to leave the teams tied at 14-14 at the end of the first quarter.

Lewiston took its final lead on the first play of the second period, as Giroux connected over the middle with Turcotte.

But Bangor countered with three straight touchdowns. Walton scored from 10 yards out, then the Rams’ defense finally stopped the Blue Devils as Jon Thompson and Ben Bambrick helped keep Turcotte inches short of a first down on fourth-and-four from the Bangor 43.

Vanidestine then scored on a 2-yard run, and after Thompson recovered a Turcotte fumble at the Lewiston 18, Edwards raced around left end to score from 10 yards out with 3:14 left in the half.

Bangor’s line, led by 6-foot-8, 310-pound tackle Robert Seccareccia, was wearing down Lewiston’s smaller front on both sides on the line of scrimmage, and the Rams seemingly were in good shape with their 35-21 halftime lead.

But Lewiston was resilient.

Turcotte scored on a 4-yard run with 6.8 seconds left in the third quarter to pull the Blue Devils within 35-28, and after Edwards passed to Crews for a 48-yard touchdown, Giroux hit Brooks with an 18-yard TD pass to close the gap to 42-35 with 55.1 seconds left in the game.

Lewiston’s Travis Dyke then recovered an onside kick, and the Blue Devils used a 29-yard double-pass from Giroux to Brooks to Wesley Myers to reach the Bangor 8. But three downs produced just one yard before Turcotte took a pitch and raced toward the left corner of the end zone where he was met by Walton along the sideline at the 1.

“He’s a man,” said Hackett of Turcotte, “and he’s not alone. They’re a heck of a team. But our offense carried us in the first half, our defense carried us in the second half, and we just outlasted them.”

RAMS 42, BLUE DEVILS 35

Lewiston (0-1) 14 7 7 7 – 35

Bangor (1-0) 14 21 0 7 – 42

B-Crews 55 pass from Edwards (Vanidestine kick)

L-Brooks 54 pass from Turcotte (Gagnon kick)

L-Turcotte 18 run (Gagnon kick)

B-Vanidestine 3 run (Vanidestine kick)

L-Turcotte 40 pass from Giroux (Gagnon kick)

B-Walton 10 run (Vanidestine kick)

B-Vanidestine 2 run (Vanidestine kick)

B-Edwards 10 run (Vanidestine kick)

L-Turcotte 4 run (Gagnon kick)

B-Crews 48 pass from Edwards (Vanidestine kick)

L-Brooks 18 pass from Giroux (Gagnon kick)

Lewiston Bangor

First downs 15 22

Rushing att.-yards 46-225 41-283

Passing comp.-att. 8-17 4-10

Passing yards 198 155

Total yards 423 438

Punts-avg. 4-32.8 2-29.5

Fumbles-lost 3-1 2-1

Intercepted by 0 0

Penalties-yards 8-43 3-25

Rushing

Lewiston: Turcotte 28-159, Myers 8-35, Hairston 3-19, Giroux 3-6, Bailey 1-5, Letourneau 3-1; Bangor: Walton 19-175, Vanidestine 12-67, Edwards 9-41, Gallant 1-0

Passing

Lewiston: Giroux 6-14-0-106, Turcotte 1-2-0-54, Brooks 1-1-0-38; Bangor: Edwards 4-10-0-155

Receiving

Lewiston: Brooks 3-101, Turcotte 2-46, Myers 1-38, Gardner 1-8, Letourneau 1-5; Bangor: Crews 3-115, Weston 1-40,

A-850 (est.)