Defense didn’t rest for Rams Bangor edges Devils, advances to final

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BANGOR – Two months ago, explosive offenses collided as Bangor outlasted Lewiston in a season-opening 42-35 shootout.

Though the rematch was just as close, this time it was all about defensive resiliency – and the result was the same.

Bangor employed a bend-but-not-break defensive approach in Friday night’s Pine Tree Conference Class A football semifinal, halting four Lewiston drives into Rams’ territory with fourth-down stops to earn a 14-7 victory at Cameron Stadium.

No. 2 Bangor (8-1) advances to the regional final next weekend at top-ranked and unbeaten Lawrence of Fairfield, a 29-7 winner over No. 4 Messalonskee of Oakland.

No. 3 Lewiston finishes 6-3.

Blue Devils’ standout Jared Turcotte got his yardage against the Rams, gaining 257 yards on 37 carries. But only once did he break free, a 70-yard touchdown sprint on Lewiston’s second possession.

After intermission Bangor’s defense stiffened, limiting Turcotte to just one carry of more than seven yards.

And the Blue Devils had no other consistent offensive sources.

“There weren’t any stunts, there weren’t any tricks, we just played our defense and the kids made the plays,” said Bangor coach Mark Hackett. “We believe in a 52 defense … we just play our positions, and hopefully at the end of the year we’re good enough to stop real good teams, and I think we’re there. I think it showed tonight.”

It wasn’t easy. Lewiston’s offense spent much of the night in Bangor territory and punted just once, but the Rams halted Blue Devil drives at the Bangor 33, 11, 31 and 33-yard lines with big fourth-down plays.

“Our defense really stepped it up this game,” said junior defensive back-fullback Kyle Vanidestine. “We knew Lewiston had the best running back in the state, and we really focused on stopping him, and we did it. We made very few mistakes, and did a good job.”

Turcotte broke two tackles and raced down the right sideline on his longest run, which gave Lewiston a 7-0 lead with 1:54 left in the first quarter.

But Bangor answered immediately, marching 65 yards in eight plays to forge a 7-7 tie on a 3-yard run by Shane Walton with 10:59 left in the first half. Walton rushed six times for 31 yards during the march, which also was aided by two Ian Edwards pass completions, one for 11 yards to Tom Crews, and one for 23 yards to Ryan Weston.

“Our line was blocking great,” said Walton, who finished with 150 yards on 31 carries to surpass 1,000 rushing yards for the season. “Once the run got going it opened up the pass, and once the pass got going it opened up the run. It was all working tonight.”

Lewiston then drove from its 36 to the Bangor 11 before junior linebacker Tyler McDade stopped Turcotte short on fourth-and-2 later in the period.

“Turcotte’s a great back,” said McDade, who had a team-high 12 tackles, “but going through my mind right then was we had to stop him. Fourth down’s obviously a big play and they’re in our territory, we couldn’t let him score there. We just had to go all out.”

This game’s momentum turned at the outset of the second half, when Vanidestine returned the kickoff 43 yards to the Lewiston 45.

The drive stalled at the 2, but that field position soon came back into play when Turcotte fumbled at the 18 and Bangor’s Tyler McDade recovered.

That set up a five-play drive capped off when Edwards (9 of 16 passing, 107 yards) rolled right and ran for the go-ahead touchdown from 3 yards with 34.6 seconds left in the third quarter. Vanidestine’s second extra-point kick of the night made it 14-7.

“It feels like the turning point of the game was the kick return at the start of the second half,” said Lewiston coach Bill County. “It gave them great field position, and we came up defensively and played well to keep them out of the end zone, and then I actually thought we had a little drive going, but after we got a first down we fumbled and obviously momentum went the other way.”

Lewiston marched back into Bangor territory, but again the Rams stopped Turcotte on fourth down, this time with cornerback Jimmy Clukey leading the charge at the 31.

A 32-yard pass from Edwards to Weston helped Bangor drive to the Lewiston 23 before a Frank Sawyer interception ended that threat with 6:58 left in the game.

Lewiston then used a 29-yard run by Turcotte and a 24-yard pass from Mason Giroux to Sawyer to move into Bangor territory.

But the Blue Devils got no closer than the 30, and a fourth-down pass intended for Turcotte was knocked down by Vanidestine with 1:28 to play.

“We’ve really matured over the season defensively,” McDade said. “Our defense has really been stepping it up lately, and we’ve all kind of thought that defense wins games, and championships.”

RAMS 14, BLUE DEVILS 7

Lewiston (6-3) 7 0 0 0 – 7

Bangor (8-1) 0 7 7 0 – 14

L – Turcotte 70 run (Gagnon kick)

B – Walton 3 run (Vanidestine kick)

B – Edwards 3 run (Vanidestine kick)

Lewiston Bangor

First downs 13 17

Rushing att.-yards 46-292 42-184

Passing comp.-att. 2-8 9-16

Passing yards 52 107

Total yards 344 291

Punts-avg. 1-23.0 3-33.7

Fumbles-lost 2-2 0-0

Intercepted by 2 0

Penalties-yards 3-18 4-30

Rushing

Lewiston: Turcotte 37-256, Letourneau 3-28, Myers 3-12, Giroux 2-0, Blais 1-(minus 4); Bangor: Walton 31-150, Vanidestine 2-22, Edwards 7-10, Billings 2-2

Passing

Lewiston: Giroux 2-6-0-52, Turcotte 0-1-0-0, Brooks 0-1-0-0; Bangor: Edwards 9-16-2-107

Receiving

Lewiston: Brooks 1-28, Sawyer 1-24; Bangor: Crews 4-34, Weston 3-64, Gallant 2-9

A-1,000 (est.)