ORONO – With both teams’ offenses trading scoring salvos early on like battleships firing shots across each other’s bow, Friday night’s LTC Class C football battle between Orono and John Bapst of Bangor would come down to … defense?

Oh yeah, as in the first defense to make a stop, force a punt and get the ball back.

That’s how the visiting Crusaders turned a back-and-forth scorefest into a 40-20 win over the Red Riots at Alumni Field and put a stranglehold on the No. 2 slot in the LTC rankings.

“We were really worried about the dive because on those first two drives, they were driving it right down our throats,” Bapst senior tackle Tyler Chamberlain said. “We made some adjustments and made a really key stop on third down, got the ball back and scored. From then on, we did really good.”

Actually, after Orono scored on its first two possessions and Bapst did the same, the Crusaders got a couple of key stops: on third and fourth down on Orono’s third series.

The 4-3 Riots had driven 27 yards in seven plays after a Kirk Francis kickoff return brought the ball to the 50-yard line. But on third-and-four from the JB-23, Chamberlain and Max Andrews wrapped up Orono’s Marcus Leek for a 3-yard loss. On fourth-and-seven, Riots quarterback Kash Keezer couldn’t find an open receiver and threw an incomplete pass.

Bapst wasted no time pouncing on the opportunity. Derek Smith found Billy Wetherbee for a 32-yard reception on first down, and Chase Huckestein took the following handoff through the right side and 43 yards downfield for a touchdown to make it 19-14 Bapst with 8:33 left in the first half.

A kickoff and two plays later, Keezer was intercepted by Smith, who actually wrestled it away from the intended receiver at midfield and returned the ball 39 yards. Smith then scored on a first-and-goal 6-yard run and momentum was firmly with Bapst.

The 6-1 Crusaders made sure the Riots wouldn’t be able to reverse momentum as Wetherbee took back the second-half kickoff 72 yards before Smith scored on a 6-yard, first-down run to make it 33-14 just 23 seconds into the third quarter.

“The first time [third series] we didn’t score and then them going up on us hurt us, but the opening kickoff in the second half is probably the straw that broke our back,” said Red Riots head coach Bob Sinclair. “We wanted to control the clock and control the ball because they’re a quick-strike offense and we’re not.

“They were able to break things open and that made the difference.”

The Riots outgained the Crusaders 236 yards to 197 on the ground and tallied 23 first downs to Bapst’s 13, but Bapst’s big plays offset that advantage.

“They [Bapst defensive linemen] did a great job of establishing the line of scrimmage and I think we were able to wear them out a little bit,” said Crusaders coach Dan O’Connell.

Blaine Silk led Orono with 106 yards on 24 carries. Keezer passed for two touchdowns and 143 yards but was intercepted four times.

Wetherbee posted 72 yards on 13 carries and Huckestein had 83 on seven. Smith finished with 128 yards on 6-for-11 passing.

Defensively, the Crusaders were led by seniors Chris Fogler, Taylor Dube, Derek Smith and Chamberlain, plus freshman Max Andrews.

“I think we really realized we needed to get up on the line and re-establish the line of scrimmage, get in the backfield, get some penetration and make some plays,” said Chamberlain. “Our linebackers started to come up and support a lot better and our D-line got fired up and more excited. We got more aggressive and fought through the gaps.”

Wetherbee (two TDs, two receptions for 34 yards) had two tackles for losses but gave Orono most of its headaches when he was on offense.

“That first drive, we did counter smash and ran up the gut, and then we started to spread out because they can’t cover all of us at once,” he said.

aneff@bangordailynews.net

990-8205

CRUSADERS 40, RED RIOTS 20

John Bapst (6-1) 13 13 14 0 – 40

Orono (4-3) 14 0 0 6 – 20

O – Perry 38 pass from Keezer (LeVasseur rush)

JB – Smith 3 run (Dieuveuil kick)

O – McAlinden 11 pass from Keezer (kick blocked)

JB – Wetherbee 3 run (pass failed)

JB – Huckestein 43 run (kick failed)

JB – Smith 6 run (Dieuveuil kick)

JB – Smith 6 run (Dieuveuil kick)

JB – Smith 15 run (Dieuveuil kick)

O – Mowrer 31 run (rush failed)

John Bapst Orono

First downs 13 23

Rushing att.-yards 31-197 55-236

Passing comp.-att. 6-11 9-22

Passing yards 128 143

Total yards 325 379

Punts-avg. 3-30.3 2-31.0

Fumbles-lost 1-1 4-1

Intercepted by 4 1

Penalties-yards 2-30 3-25

Rushing

John Bapst: Huckestein 7-83, Wetherbee 13-72, Smith 7-29, Lear 3-7, Fogler 1-6; Orono: Silk 24-106, Mowrer 4-51, Perry 8-42, Leek 8-19, Keezer 11-18

Passing

John Bapst: Smith 6-11-1-128; Orono: Keezer 9-22-4-143

Receiving

John Bapst: Hass 3-73, Wetherbee 2-34, Huckestein 1-21; Orono: LeVasseur 2-46, Perry 1-38, Francis 3-36, McAlinden 2-13, Leek 1-10

A-400 (est.)