Bangor High baseball coach Jeff Fahey accepted a daunting challenge six years ago.

He wasn’t just moving up from the junior varsity post he held for 12 years. He was replacing Bob Kelley and his 479 victories, 15 Eastern Maine Class A championships and eight state titles over the previous 32 seasons.

There’s a coaching adage that says you’re better off replacing the guy who replaces the legend rather than actually replacing the legend yourself, but when Kelley and assistants John Stubbs and Neil Waterman retired after the 2000 season, it was Fahey’s time.

There’s another adage in Eastern Maine that says that because Bangor is the biggest school around, the Rams should win every year.

No pressure there.

“My biggest concern when I took the job was I didn’t want to be the guy responsible for the downfall of the Bangor program,” said Fahey. “I’m sure some people had their doubts because they were so used to having Kel in the dugout for so many years.”

Indeed, Fahey knew all about Bangor’s tradition, having played center field for Kelley during the early 1980s and helping the Rams win the 1982 state title.

“He was a great coach,” said Fahey. “Kel had an unbelieveable knack for going with his gut feeling, and it almost always worked.”

Under Fahey, Bangor has remained a consistent contender. But Tuesday’s 10-0 win over Skowhegan produced the Rams’ first EM title since 2000, and Bangor will play Portland on Saturday at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish seeking its first state crown since 1997.

It’s not that the Rams have underachieved. Like the rest of Eastern A, Bangor had to wait out first-round draft pick Mark Rogers’ dominance of the division with Mount Ararat of Topsham in 2003 and 2004, and last spring the Rams reached the semifinals before falling to state champion Oxford Hills of South Paris.

Sure, an occasional grumble has been heard, the grumble heard any time a program with high expectations doesn’t always achieve the ultimate goal. Fahey understands – he’s as competitive as any of the grumblers.

“I’m from Bangor,” he said, “so I know some of the politics, I know a lot of the families, and I think that familiarity helps.”

Like his predecessor, Fahey leans heavily on his coaching staff, which began with John Tennett and Rob Gould and now includes Tennett and Fred Lower.

“I thought one of the most important things was to put together a good staff, because Kel had John Stubbs and Neil Waterman around for 25 years and it worked so well,” he said.

Fahey sees his job as one of coach and mentor.

“I think I relate to the kids pretty well,” he said. “They know John and I care about what they’re doing outside of baseball and on the field.”

And his players knows he cares about them, as well as a Bangor baseball program that has been part of his life not just for the last six years, but most of his life.

“He’s one of the most intense people in the dugout, running up and down and jumping,” said senior first baseman Scott Hackett. “I remember one game when someone got a base hit to the gap and I look over at him and he’s 10 feet in the air, jumping and pumping his fists.

“He’s just a great motivator. He gets everybody ready for the game. It’s easy to get ready when you have someone like him behind you.”

Ernie Clark may be reached at 990-8045, 1-800-310-8600 or by e-mail at eclark@bangordailynews.net