Coming off a 42-0 win over Brewer in last week’s exhibition game, the Bangor varsity football team suffered a reality check at the hands of Thornton Academy of Saco on Friday night, losing by the same score at home.
The reigning Class A state champions showed why they’ve hoisted six gold balls in 11 years, stretching out a 28-0 halftime lead and then running back the second half kickoff for a touchdown.
The Golden Trojans scored on every offensive possession until midway through the fourth quarter. They previously beat Bangor 65-7 in 2022 and 84-13 in 2021.
The Rams showed flashes on Friday, compiling four offensive plays of 22 yards or more (three rushing, one passing) and coming 11 yards shy of scoring at the end of the first half. With less than 10 seconds to go, junior quarterback Kyle Johnson threw a contested ball under pressure, which was picked by Thornton in their endzone.
Left: Bangor’s Eli Marsh (#9) is brought down by Thornton Academy’s Ben Knox (#19) and Carter Cormier (#16) during the first half of a game at Cameron Stadium on Friday. Thornton Academy won the game 42-0; right: Thornton Academy’s Stevo Jones (#21) runs the ball in first half at a game against Thornton Academy at Cameron Stadium on Friday. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
“We know what we can be, and we showed glimpses of it tonight,” Johnson said. “We’ve gotta have that mentality every play. When we get one of those [big] plays, we have to build off it and string them together. That’s how you win football games.”
Bangor finished with 113 total yards on the ground and 53 in the air (seven completions). Johnson accounted for 68 rushing yards, and senior running back Mason Knights had 49. Senior slot back Jackson Varney caught four passes and finished with 59 all-purpose yards.
Thornton senior quarterback Wyatt Benoit threw for 105 yards (eight completions) and had 61 yards rushing with a touchdown. Running backs Mauricio Sunderland, Connor Ayoob and Brennan Tabor combined for an additional four scores and 135 rushing yards.
Left: Thornton Academy’s Zach Nelson (#54) goes after Bangor quarterback Kyle Johnson in the first half at a game against Thornton Academy at Cameron Stadium on Friday; right: Bangor’s quarterback Kyle Johnson looks to throw a pass in the first half of a game against Thornton Academy at Cameron Stadium on Friday. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
“It feels great to start out strong with a win, convincing 42-0. I did call that kick return, number 11 [Ryan Camire] is really talented,” Benoit said. “We really just took what we were given, especially because Bangor’s cornerbacks sat pretty deep. So that’s why I started throwing screens and running a lot.”
Next up, Bangor will travel to play South Portland next Friday, and then host Lewiston on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m.
“We could have done some stuff better on offense and defense to control the game, but at the end of the day we just gotta bounce back next week and battle,” Bangor junior linebacker Zac Cota said. “I know we can have a great season.”
