BANGOR – Bangor High junior Chris McLean stood at midfield at Cameron Stadium, smiling widely despite sporting a forehead that was missing a substantial chunk of flesh, a face that was stained by blood, and a uniform that was downright grubby.

The blood and grime spoke volumes about the workhorse performance the backup tailback gave the Rams in a 35-7 football win over Gardiner that was coldly efficient.

McLean filled in for senior star Pat Estey – the Pine Tree Conference’s third-leading rusher fell victim of a sprained ankle in Tuesday’s workout – with a 23-carry, 112-yard, two-touchdown outing that paved the way to the win. Bangor moved to 6-2 while Gardiner is 0-8.

McLean’s well-gouged forehead was actually a work in progress, peeled open on another Friday night during this football fall, but it illustrated his Friday effort well.

Add in senior fullback Marcus Burpee, who took advantage of attempts to stop McLean with infrequent, successful rushes, and you have the makings of a Ram backfield that dominated en route to 352 rushing yards.

Burpee added 155 yards on just nine rushes, and sprinted 50 yards for a touchdown.

Bangor coach Gabby Price said McLean’s performance was one of many strong efforts for the Rams.

“One of the great things about high school football is you need all your players,” Bangor coach Gabby Price said. “Last week’s one of the best games I’ve seen someone play in a long time, and then [Estey] got hurt in practice.

“Our players did a tremendous job. Our line was terrific and and the whole team played great.”

The Rams set the tone on the first drive of the game, as they drove straight to the Gardiner 31 yard line, where junior quarterback Tom Waterman hooked up with senior speedster Jason St. Pierre on the first of two TDs on a quick fade route down the left sideline.

The play covered 31 yards. McLean put the Rams up 13-0 with 3:40 left in the first quarter when he plunged in from a yard out.

“I didn’t know if I was really going to start until tonight, and I figured I had to step it up,” McLean said.

After a three-and-out Gardiner drive, St. Pierre ran under another Waterman fade toss, cruising into the end zone from 29 yards out with 51 seconds left in the first. The conversion made it 21-0.

Meanwhile the Rams were dominant on defense, holding the PTC’s sixth-ranked rusher, Phil Alley, to 13 yards on 10 carries. The Tigers managed only 46 yards on the ground in the game.

“We were a lot more physical than we’ve been for a long time,” Price said. “We just thought we didn’t play very good defense [in previous games].”

After another McLean one-yard dive, the bulky Burpee took advantage of Waterman’s second-down interception when he rambled 50 yards for the Rams’ final score with 2:50 left in the half.

Burpee, who entered the game averaging 8.0 yards per carry, broke through the line, made a move on a defensive back, and sprinted down into the end zone.

“It was Veer drive,” Burppe said. “I just run through the line and veer toward the sideline. I just ran as hard as I could.”

Gardiner got on the board in the fourth quarter when backup QB Ryan Fish hit Jared Baker on a quick out and Baker sprinted 63 yards for the score.

Rams 35, Tigers 7

Gardiner 0 0 0 7 – 7

Bangor 21 14 0 0 – 35

B-St. Pierre 31 pass from Waterman (kick failed)

B-McLean 1 run (McLean rush)

B-St. Pierre 29 pass from Waterman (Capehart kick)

B-Burpee 50 run (Capehart kick)

B-McLean 1 run (Sarjeant kick)

G-Baker 63 pass from Fish (kick good)

Gardiner Bangor

First downs 20 4 Rushing att. – yds 28-46 54-352 Passing cmp. – att. 1-9 3-4 Yards passing 63 66 Total yards 109 418 Intercepted by 0 1 Punts – avg. 5-34.6 0-0 Fumbles – lost 3-2 0-0 Penalties – yds 4-20 9-65

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Gardiner: Alley 10-13, Madore 3-37, Munzing 1-0, Merrill 4-10, Baker 2-6, Grover 5-11, Bonenfant 3-(-31); Bangor: Burpee 9-155, McLean 23-112, Wilcox 2-5, Waterman 3-28, McAuliffe 5-5, Clarkson 6-25, Walsh 2-8, Vanidestine 2-4, Caven 1-10

PASSING – Gardiner: Bonenfant 0-8-1-0; Fish 1-1-0-63; Bangor: Waterman 3-4-0-66

RECEIVING – Gardiner: Baker, 1-63; Bangor: St. Pierre 2-60, Wilcox 1-6