The Bangor Rams wasted no time making a statement Friday night against the Lawrence Bulldogs.
The home team from Bangor High School forced a fumble and recovered it on the very first play from scrimmage, immediately putting the visitors from Lawrence High School of Fairfield in a difficult spot defending from their own 23-yard line.
And the Rams didn’t let up there. Just two plays after he recovered the fumble, Bangor running back and linebacker Zac Cota punched the ball into the end zone for the game’s first six points. Quarterback Kyle Johnson helped set that score up with a 17-yard run the previous down.
Bangor would continue to rule the night with a series of big plays that carried the Rams to a 42-0 win
Lawrence looked dangerous on its first possession, marching down the field with a couple of 15-plus yard gains from running backs Garrett Leclerc and Dawson Moore. But that drive stalled near the Bangor goal line, and the Rams kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard by blocking a field goal attempt from the 11-yard line.
Bangor followed up that momentum-building defensive play with a crowd-rocking 56-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to tight end Will Houghton, who made an impressive juggling catch and then outran the Lawrence defense for an electric trip to the end zone.
The Class A home team kept pouring it on against the Class B visitors in the second quarter. Bangor running back Eli Marsh rumbled in for a 19-yard rushing touchdown that put the Rams up 21-0 after the extra point.
They weren’t done there. Far from it.
Wide receiver Trey Tennett went in motion and took a quick shovel-pass-like toss from Johnson with under four minutes in the second quarter. Tennett proceeded to fly down the field for an 85-yard touchdown to put the Rams up 28-0 heading into half time.
Bangor picked right up where it left off to start the third quarter. Johnson quickly scampered for a 25-yard run, and then connected with Tennett again for a 49-yard strike that stretched the lead to 35-0.
That lead grew to 42 with under eight minutes left after Johnson threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Hayden Summerlin.
Friday night’s win was a solid bounceback for the Rams after falling to returning Class A South Champion Thornton Academy of Saco on the road last week. Bangor is now 2-1 after two shutout wins at home, and faces returning state champion Portland next week.
Lawrence fell to 1-2 and squares off against Deering next Friday.