DEXTER – It was perhaps the biggest preseason question mark facing the John Bapst of Bangor football team – how would its new starting quarterback handle that most important of roles?

For Charlie Merritt, the answer was in the numbers.

Merritt, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound junior, completed 10 of 11 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown Saturday as the Crusaders topped Dexter 51-14 in an LTC Class C season opener.

Merritt’s ascension to starting quarterback has allowed last year’s QB, junior Kyle Gallant, to team with classmate Nick Smith at running back, and that duo’s speed was too much for Dexter’s defense to handle. Smith rushed for 43 yards and four touchdowns, while Gallant had 61 yards and two scores.

“Charlie’s a competitor, and he wants to do well for this team and he wants the transition to go smoothly,” said John Bapst coach Dan O’Connell, “so I think today meant a lot to him because he was mentally focused and I think that showed in the way he threw the ball.

“We’ve felt if Charlie or whomever could handle the quarterback position, then we’d have both Nick and Kyle that you have to honor, and with our big offensive line we have the chance to be successful.”

Bapst held a 51-0 lead until the final seconds of the third quarter, when Dexter junior Dontai Keith returned a kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown, yet this was a game that turned on one play.

In fact, Dexter had the best early scoring threat, driving to the Bapst 20 after Ben Spizuoco recovered a Gallant fumble near midfield. But a big hit by the Crusaders’ Jim Ouellette on a third-down carry by Spizuoco produced a four-yard loss, and Keith was held to one yard on fourth-and-seven.

On Dexter’s next possession, Spizuoco dropped back to pass, with several receivers lined up on the left and 6-foot-5 Steve Robinson lined up one-on-one against Bapst’s Bill Wetherbee to the right on the wide side of the field.

The long sideline pass went into the wind, and Wetherbee read the underthrow and stepped in for the interception, which he returned from the Bapst 47 to the Dexter 5.

Two plays later, Smith scored from five yards out, and Bapst had a sudden 6-0 lead with 2:21 left in the first quarter.

“In years past, maybe on that big play we tipped it, or maybe it got away from us and the other team caught it,” said O’Connell. “To have us make that play and get a substantial return I think turned the whole momentum of the game and is hopefully a sign that we’re experienced enough to make those plays instead of almost make those plays.”

Smith scored on a four-yard sweep on the first play of the second quarter to make it 14-0. Gallant added two seven-yard TD runs and Smith scored from nine yards out before intermission as the Crusaders built a 35-0 lead.

Smith scored his fourth TD on a 10-yard run with 3:03 left in the third quarter, and Gallant followed a fumble recovery by teammate Anthony Ortiz with a 12-yard touchdown catch from Merritt with seven seconds left.

Keith then got Dexter on the board, heading straight up field after fielding the kickoff at the Dexter 18, hesitating just long enough to spin through two John Bapst defenders at the 40 before sprinting to the end zone.

Soccer player Dan Beatham followed with the first of his two extra-point kicks, the second coming after Robinson broke a 30-yard bootleg for a touchdown with 9:58 left in the game.

“What I am happy about is these kids did not quit,” said Dexter coach Tim Wilson, returning to the Tigers’ sideline as head coach for the first time since 1971. “They played for four quarters, and that’s all I can tell you.”

CRUSADERS 51, TIGERS 14

John Bapst (1-0) 6 29 16 0 – 51

Dexter (0-1) 0 0 7 7 – 14

JB – Smith 5 run (kick blocked)

JB – Smith 4 run (Merritt pass to Frye)

JB – Gallant 7 run (Gallant kick)

JB – Gallant 7 run (kick failed)

JB – Smith 9 run (Merritt pass to Moriarity)

JB – Smith 10 run (Moriarity rush)

JB – Gallant 12 pass from Merritt (Chamberlain rush)

D – Keith 82 kickoff return (Beatham kick)

D – Robinson 30 run (Beatham kick)

John Bapst Dexter

First downs 29 6

Rushing att.-yards 38-183 31-99

Passing comp.-att. 12-13 3-9

Passing yards 218 41

Total yards 401 140

Punts-avg. 3-32.3 4-25.3

Fumbles-lost 3-2 3-3

Intercepted by 2 0

Penalties-yards 13-101 6-30

Rushing

John Bapst: Gallant 11-61, Smith 9-43, Gagnon 5-36, Wetherbee 3-22, Haas 5-15, Merritt 3-7, LaPierre 1-1, Huckestein 1-(minus-2); Dexter: Robinson 5-42, Keith 14-39, Cousins 8-28, Spizuoco 3-(minus-5), Richardson 1-(minus-5)

Passing

John Bapst: Merritt 10-11-0-163, Gallant 2-2-0-55; Dexter: Spizuoco 2-5-1-29, Robinson 1-2-0-12, Cousins 0-2-1-0

Receiving

John Bapst: Ortiz 4-65, Smith 2-40, Huckestein 1-35, Moriarity 1-29, LaPierre 2-26, Gallant 2-23; Dexter: Robinson 1-23, Lockhart 1-12, Cousins 1-6

A-450 (est.)