BANGOR – On a Friday evening when Bangor’s offense was somewhat sluggish, the Rams’ defensive front picked up the slack.

Ends Sean Flynn and Jon Thompson, nose guard Ben Bambrick, and tackles Robert Seccareccia, Adam Kearns, and Brad White controlled the line of scrimmage after intermission, enabling the Rams to rally from a one-point halftime deficit and earn a hard-fought 21-14 Pine Tree Conference Class A football victory over Brunswick at Cameron Stadium.

That front sparked a defensive effort that limited Brunswick to 103 second-half yards – 50 coming on a touchdown run by quarterback Russell Thompson with 1:57 left after Bangor had pulled out to a two-touchdown lead.

“I really think the defensive line was the difference in the game,” said Bangor coach Mark Hackett. “That group of kids by far carried our team tonight. In years past it’s always been the offensive line, and those are the same kids, but they just expended more energy on defense tonight – and they had to, because Brunswick did a lot of things with its offense.”

Brunswick outgained Bangor 144-99 in total offense while taking a 7-6 halftime lead, but Bangor made a slight adjustment in its pass coverage and stymied the Dragons the rest of the way.

“We were prepared,” said Flynn, who had a quarterback sack, batted down one pass, and was in on several tackles. “Coach told us they were a good team and we came out and played our hardest and came out on top.”

“Bangor’s a good team,” added Brunswick coach Dan Cooper. “They wore us down in the second half. They made the big plays, and we just couldn’t answer tonight.”

Bangor (3-0) never led until 1:35 remained in the third quarter, when quarterback Ian Edwards ran around left end 3 yards for a touchdown and then rushed for the two-point conversion to give the Rams a 14-7 advantage.

That drive was kept alive by a fake punt on fourth-and-six from the Brunswick 39, with Jimmy Clukey taking the short snap and gaining 7 yards for a first down.

“We’d been running that play all week,” said Clukey, “and Jimmy [Batchelder] pulled down the line and had a great block on the outside guy, and I just ran the ball hard.”

Brunswick then marched inside Bangor territory before the drive stalled as Kyle Vanidestine recovered a Demetri Rosette fumble at the Rams’ 17.

Bangor then put the game away with an 83-yard march. A 36-yard pass from Edwards to Tom Crews set up the Rams’ final score, a 3-yard run on a late pitch to Vanidestine with 3:28 left in the game.

That was one of several option plays executed by Edwards to either Vanidestine or workhorse tailback Shane Walton (34 carries, 178 yards) that produced second-half gains after Bangor’s rushing attack was slowed by Brunswick’s interior defense during the first two quarters.

“That option with Ian and those running backs is going to be what maybe separates us from some other teams,” said Hackett “It’s a little high risk and we like conservative, but there were some beautiful plays there and it’s real tough to stop.”

Brunswick (1-1) came out highly motivated, playing the game in memory of Adam Aube, a 2006 graduate of the school and a former Dragon football standout who died Sept. 9 of natural causes while serving in the Marines.

“He was a tremendous kid,” said Cooper. “He always did the right thing, and it was a tough week with him passing, but I’m proud of my guys. They honored him well tonight.”

The Dragons marched 91 yards to inside the Bangor 1 early in the second quarter before a procedure penalty set them back and Batchelder and Thompson stuffed Camden Miller (23 carries, 70 yards) for a 1-yard gain on fourth-and-goal from the 4.

The drive did set Brunswick up for good field position on its next possession, and this time the Dragons’ offense delivered.

A 34-yard pass from Thompson to Connor Breisacher moved the ball to the Bangor 4, and Miller scored two plays later on a 2-yard run. Kyle Dwyer’s extra-point kick gave Brunswick a 7-0 lead with 3:52 left in the first half.

Bangor took the kickoff and marched 71 yards in 13 plays. Walton broke free for his longest gain, a 34-yarder to the Brunswick 34. Bangor then faced third-and-six when Vanidestine fumbled, but Edwards recovered and ran for the first down. Edwards later went the final yard, this time after recovering a fumbled snap, to pull Bangor within 7-6 with 21.3 seconds left in the half.

“I think we wore them down just a hair, just enough to win the game,” said Hackett. “We didn’t play that well, but I think it may be that they played well. They’re a good football team. I hope to see them again.”

RAMS 21, DRAGONS 14

Brunswick (1-1) 0 7 0 7 – 14

Bangor (3-0) 0 6 8 7 – 21

Brun-Miller 2 run (Dwyer kick)

Ban-Edwards 1 run (kick failed)

Ban-Edwards 3 run (Edwards rush)

Ban-Vanidestine 3 run (Vanidestine kick)

Brun-Thompson 50 run (Dwyer kick)

Brunswick Bangor

First downs 12 18

Rushing att.-yards 40-157 49-238

Passing comp.-att. 5-7 3-11

Passing yards 99 63

Total yards 256 301

Punts-avg. 2-29.5 2-32.0

Fumbles-lost 3-2 2-0

Intercepted by 1 0

Penalties-yards 7-50 5-31

Rushing

Brunswick: Miller 23-70, Thompson 6-45 Rosette 11-42; Bangor: Walton 34-178, Edwards 6-31, Vanidestine 8-27, Clukey 1-7

Passing

Brunswick: Thompson 4-6-0-83, Rosette 1-1-0-16; Bangor: Edwards 3-11-1-63

Receiving

Brunswick: Skully 2-51, Breisacher 1-34, Thompson 1-16, Ryan 1-(minus-2); Bangor: Crews 3-63

A-850 (est.)