PORTLAND – The site was Deering Oaks Park and the opponents were the Deering Rams of Portland, but for one magical afternoon, Bryan Brown, Kyle Cutshall and Jeremy Yardley helped Bangor’s Rams feel right at home.

No matter what happens in the future, Deering Oaks will bring back good memories for Bangor tennis fans after the Bangor Rams rallied from an 0-2 match deficit on the strength of two back-from-flat-line comebacks to win the school’s first-ever state team tennis title and cap a dream 16-0 season.

“I just can’t believe it. I feel like I just won Wimbledon or something,” said Brown, who overcame a first-set loss and 5-0 second-set tiebreaker deficit in the stunner.

Well, there were no strawberries and cream to be passed around during Bangor’s celebration, but there were homemade cookies galore as the Rams won their first state tennis crown in three trips to the finals.

“I’ve been sitting on the hill with [Deering coach] Larry Nichols because it’s the only way we could sit it out,” said Bangor coach Rick Ylagan, who had to do some deep breathing exercises just to calm back down after Brown’s pulse-pounding win. “I don’t know if either of us could take much more.”

Bangor’s Class A crown was the high point for Eastern Maine as the other two boys matches went the West’s way. Waynflete of Portland downed George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill 3-2 in Class C and Cape Elizabeth dropped Ellsworth 4-1 for its ninth B state title and first since 1997.

In Class A, Deering (14-2) charged out and swept the doubles matches in straight sets before Yardley stopped Bangor’s bleeding with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Isaac Levinsky. That’s as easy as it would get for Bangor.

Next, it was fellow senior Kyle Cutshall’s turn to try and keep Bangor alive. Bangor went on life support after Deering junior Ryan Brennan beat Cutshall 6-3 in the first set, but Cutshall came back to win the second 6-1 after modifying his serve-and-volley attack.

“I like to come up and attack and he keeps his returns low and below the net, so it was harder for me to keep a good approach shot. If I didn’t, he’d hit a good passing shot,” said Cutshall. “So I started slicing returns below the net and going with placement over power.”

Brennan adjusted as well, roared back to take a 5-2 lead in the third set, and was poised to serve out the match and clinch the win for Deering in the eighth game. Cutshall responded by using power and placement with slicing returns down the lines and overhead smashes to break Brennan. He then held his own serve, broke Brennan again, and held serve again to take a 6-5 lead.

By this time, Brennan was beset by leg cramps. After taking a five-minute injury break and getting his calves massaged, he came back to hold serve, tie the match, and force a tiebreaker, but Cutshall would not be denied as he used solid service and frustratingly unerring returns to win it 7-0 and tie up the overall team match.

That set the stage for Brown, an unassuming freshman who had the unenviable task of trying to beat Pat Conway, the reigning state singles champion who hadn’t lost a set, let alone a match, all season. The two had met once before in the state singles quarterfinals, where Conway beat Brown 6-0, 7-5.

Saturday looked like a repeat after Conway broke Brown’s first two service games and won 6-2. Then Brown refined his game plan.

“I had a different strategy today. I hit almost everything to his backhand and tried to get really angled shots,” Brown explained. “Last time he lobbed me every time, so this time I didn’t come as close to the net and stayed around the service line so he couldn’t.”

Conway broke Brown again for a 1-0 second-set let, but then Brown broke back for the first time. Both players held serve the next five games before Brown broke again for a 5-3 lead. Conway foiled his attempt to serve out the set as a potential set-winning passing shot by Brown was called wide, broke back, and then held to tie it 5-5. The next game went deuce before Brown held, Conway served a love game, and it was tiebreaker time.

Conway continued his momentum and won the next five points to get just two away from winning. Conway rolled his left ankle on a return which gave Brown his first point. Brown regrouped by moving the slightly hobbled Conway around the court and won the next four to tie. Both players held serve before Brown won the next two on a passing shot and an angled return flicking out off Conway’s racket as Conway slipped again.

After the din from the 100 fans suffering through every serve and return died down, Brown broke Conway in the third set’s first game and held for a 2-0 lead. Conway then held and broke to tie, Brown broke back, held, and then broke again to go up 5-2. Conway rallied to win the next two before Brown had to take an injury timeout for a knot (cramp) in his knee.

A banana, a massage and several Gatorade-water gulps later, Brown served out the match. After watching Conway turn aside three match points in the last two games, Brown won the fourth and bedlam ensued as teammates and fans flooded the court.

“I think I’m two years older now after that match,” Cutshall said. “It was just unbelievable tennis.”

In Class C, another comeback swung a title as Waynflete’s Ian Bossie came back from a 4-1 deficit to win the first set 6-4 and closed out the match with a 6-2 win.

“I think once things start turning, he’s an emotional player and things start rolling better for him, said GSA coach Larry Gray.

Coach Chris Hall of the 14-2 Flyers said it’s Bossie’s third straight comeback with the previous two going three sets.

“That’s why he doesn’t have much hair left,” Bossie said of Hall.

The Eagles won second singles (Owen Gilmore 6-1, 6-2) and first doubles (Andrew Hikade-James Gagne 6-2, 6-3), but it wasn’t enough to stave off their first loss in 17 matches this season.

In Class B, the season of exceeded expectations finally ended for the 14-2 Eagles as they couldn’t match a younger yet deeper Cape Elizabeth team, which wound up 16-0.

Top singles player Noah John notched Ellsworth’s lone win: 6-2, 6-4 over Garret Currier.

“I think it was great to get as far as we did, but we thought we had a chance and wanted to capitalize on the opportunity,” said John.

“We felt with most of our guys back from last year, we could be right here,” said CE coach Andy Strout. “We’ve got everybody back for next year, but it won’t be easy.”