BANGOR – Bangor and Lewiston opened the 2006 Class A football season with one of the most exciting games of the year.

Fifty-seven seconds into the game, each team had already scored, and Bangor went on to lead 35-21 after a first half in which the teams combined for 539 yards in total offense.

The defenses began to take a modicum of control after intermission – or perhaps the offenses just got tired – and the game wasn’t decided until Bangor’s Shane Walton stopped Lewiston star Jared Turcotte in a jarring collision just short of the goal line with 10.4 seconds left to preserve the Rams’ 42-35 victory.

More than two months later, these teams will meet again Friday night at Cameron Stadium as No. 2 Bangor (7-1) hosts No. 3 Lewiston (6-2) in an Eastern Maine Class A semifinal

Both teams have evolved since their earlier meeting, and while coaches Mark Hackett of Bangor and Bill County of Lewiston don’t expect quite as much scoring in the rematch, this likely won’t be a game dominated by the defenses, either.

“We feel like whichever team scores four times is going to win,” said Hackett, “and a team that scores three times may win.”

Lewiston features Turcotte, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound senior who has rushed for nearly 1,600 yards and scored 27 touchdowns for the Blue Devils.

In the first game against Bangor, he rushed for 159 yards on 28 carries, threw a 54-yard halfback option pass for a touchdown, and caught a 40-yard TD pass from quarterback Mason Giroux.

Turcotte enters Friday night’s rematch riding the momentum of a 326-yard, four-touchdown performance in Lewiston’s 30-14 win over Edward Little of Auburn last weekend.

“He’s just a great back,” said County, “and the last three or four weeks he’s kind of turned it on. He just takes every challenge. He’s intelligent and pretty articulate, but he plays with some anger on the football field. He plays with a lot of passion.”

Fullback Matt Letourneau and wingback Wesley Myers have complemented Turcotte in the backfield behind Giroux, while Alfonza Brooks is a top receiving threat.

“People know Turcotte is going to get the ball 25 or 30 times, but we’ve been able to run some misdirection with Wesley and the quick openers with Matt to give us some balance,” said County.

Perhaps the biggest change for Lewiston since the start of the season has involved some changes along the line of scrimmage, moves that have enhanced the Blue Devils’ ground game and defensive front.

“We went a little more in the speed direction,” said County.

Bangor counters with the biggest line in the Pine Tree Conference Class A ranks, along with a talented set of skill-position players in tailback Shane Walton, fullback Kyle Vanidestine, quarterback Ian Edwards, wideout Tom Crews and ends Ryan Weston and Alex Gallant.

Walton, a junior tailback who has more than 900 rushing yards this season, had 175 yards on 19 carries against Lewiston, while Vanidestine rushed for 67 yards and two touchdowns.

Edwards passed for 155 yards in the opener, including touchdown completions of 55 and 48 yards to Crews.

Hackett, for one, hopes a similar sharing of the statistical wealth also serves his Rams well this time around.

“They’ve got the best player in the league, and hopefully we’ve got enough balance to be able to outscore them,” he said.

No. 4 Messalonskee Eagles (5-3) vs. No. 1 Lawrence Bulldogs (8-0), 7 p.m. Friday, Keyes Field, Fairfield: These central Maine rivals meet for the second straight week, with a berth in the PTC Class A championship game at stake.

Top-ranked and undefeated Lawrence won last week’s game 21-12, but Messalonskee became the first team to score more than one touchdown against the quick and aggressive Bulldogs’ defense led by linebackers David Wallace and Jon Doyon.

Messalonskee has been gaining momentum throughout the second half of the season as the Eagles have grown accustomed to their new double-wing offense run by quarterback Lucas Thomas.

But Lawrence has been strong since Week 1, with a solid offense keyed by tailback Aaron Champagne complementing a league-best defense that has allowed just 3.9 points per game.