BANGOR, Maine — A football team can never be completely satisfied, no matter how big an advantage it has over an opponent.
Bangor had the upper hand over Oxford Hills on Friday night with a 21-7 halftime edge, but that wasn’t enough to make the Rams celebrate in the locker room.
“We were up by 14, but we weren’t happy,” senior tailback Lonnie Hackett said. “We have high expectations for ourselves. So we knew in the third and fourth quarter we had to come out strong and send a message.”
Coach Mark Hackett’s club blitzed through the Vikings and the muddy Cameron Stadium turf in the second half, scoring two third-quarter touchdowns to pull away for a 35-7 triumph on a rain-swept night.
Games like this are traditionally run with strong running, and that has been a big reason for the Rams’ 6-0 start, as Hackett piled up 224 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns while senior fullback Maxx Alexander ran for 48 yards and two more TDs.
Coach Hackett didn’t need to alter his game plan any or make any inspirational speeches at intermission.
“No adjustments or anything, they didn’t like the sloppy second quarter and they know they’re better than that and they just played hard,” he said.
The Rams just let their play on the field do the talking.
“We always expect to play great and sometimes we don’t, [but] sometimes we’ve got to look at each other and play better,” Lonnie Hackett said.
Bangor scored on its first two possessions, as junior quarterback Joe Seccareccia capped an eight-play, 71-yard opening march with a beautifully thrown 14-yard touchdown strike to junior tight end John Kelley.
Kelley snared a perfectly thrown lob pass near the right corner of the end zone and bulled his way in. Nate Henigan’s extra point gave the hosts a 7-0 lead.
Hackett scored on a 44-yard run on a sweep down the right side on the Rams’ following possession, and the subsequent PAT kick put them up 14-0.
But Oxford Hills sent a message of its own on its first drive of the second quarter, driving 59 yards in 10 plays as Nate Dubois scored from 20 yards out on an end-round down the left sideline on fourth down. Matt Verrier’s extra point made Bangor’s lead a not-so-comfortable 14-7.
But Alexander plunged in from 2 yards out just before halftime, and Hackett gave the Rams some breathing room on their first drive of the second half with a nifty 64-yard burst down the right sideline in which he eluded a couple tacklers, and Henigan’s extra-point made it 28-7.
Alexander capped the scoring later in the quarter with a 5-yard TD run.
The Rams’ offensive line of tackles Jacob Thompson and Andrew Logan, guards Alex McDade, Tommy Augustine and Ben Rapaport and center John Bishop helped pave the way for 313 yards rushing and kept the quick Oxford Hills’ defensive front off-balance.
“When the weather conditions are bad, you’ve got to go to the ground,” said Lonnie Hackett. “Luckily the [offensive] line played great, Maxx played great, we had some big blocks.”
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Alexander also did a solid job of clearing holes, and helped keep the Vikings neutralized with power runs between the tackles to complement Hackett’s runs on the outside.
“He did a good job there when we needed a second look,” said Hackett.
Jake Hall ran tough in defeat for the Vikings (1-5), finishing with 72 yards on 20 carries, and occasionally gave the Rams fits.
“I was a little surprise about their backs they had pretty quick speed,” said Alexander. ”What I saw on film didn’t reflect itself on the field.”
Bangor can now harness its focus on a home showdown next Friday with fellow undefeated Lawrence of Fairfield.
“We’ve been excited we think we have to go through Lawrence to get to where we’re going to be,” Mark Hackett said.
