The Bangor High School football team will be a work in progress this season under first-year head coach Jack Hersom, who spent 14 years as an assistant under the now-retired David Morris. He spent the previous 10 seasons as the offensive coordinator.
The Rams, Class A North runners-up to Portland the past two years, were hit hard by graduations, including standout workhorse quarterback Kyle Johnson.
The Rams went 6-5 last fall and went toe-to-toe with defending state champ Portland in their A North title game before losing 30-22.
The Rams nearly pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind win from a 15-0 deficit against Massabesic of Waterboro in their opener a week ago, but the Mustangs thwarted them with a goal line stand with just 2:04 remaining to preserve a 22-18 victory.
With the exception of senior tight end and defensive end Will Houghton, both lines are composed of first-year starters.
And junior Alex Tennett has taken over as the signal-caller from Johnson.
“The kids have done a nice job showing growth over the summer and through the preseason,” said Hersom. “Now entering week two, the kids have taken some good steps and that’s all I can ask from them right now.”
He expects that trend to continue as the players gain experience.
Tennett showed real upside in the Massabesic game.Despite being under pressure consistently, he was still able to throw for 191 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 10 of 28 passes and was intercepted once.
“He is looking really promising,” Hersom said. “He had a really good offseason in the weight room and really worked hard with some of the receivers over the summer. He has shown a lot of growth from his sophomore to his junior year and he’s going to keep getting better every single week.”
Tennett and junior wide receiver/running back Gavin Hughes have certainly established a connection as evidenced by Hughes’ six catches for 98 yards and a touchdown.
He also threw TD passes to two of his other primary targets: Houghton and senior wide receiver Hayden Summerlin.
Senior Jonah Ellis and junior Dacota Henderson will be in the wide receiver mix as well.
The versatile and talented Hughes, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the second game of the season a year ago, will be used in a lot of different ways on offense.
Houghton will also line up in different positions.
Senior Jameson Bradford and junior Obi Okafor will be two of the primary running backs, and Hughes will also get some time in the backfield.
Okafor had some strong runs on the last drive down the Massabesic goal line.
The Mustangs limited Bangor to nine rushing yards on 16 attempts, and Hersom said they need to establish a solid running game.
“We need more balance. That’s going to be huge. That will open up the passing game a little bit and allow us to be less predictable for the [opposing] defense,” Hersom said.
Carter Rockwell and Matt Booker will man the offensive tackle positions with Ian Nathan and Grant Proctor at the guards and Donovan Richards at center. All are seniors. Senior Austin Estey and junior Evan York will see playing time at tackle and sophomore Leo Nathan, Ian’s brother, will get time at center.
Houghton, Hughes and Summerlin will be the defensive catalysts.
Houghton will anchor the line from his end spot; Summerlin is a cornerback and Hughes is a safety who will be used at other positions like outside linebacker as well.
Sophomore Myles Gonzalez will join Hughes at the other safety position, Henderson will be the other cornerback along with Summerlin and the linebackers will be Okafor and Bradford with Proctor and fellow senior Ben McKay also getting playing time there.
Houghton will be at one end with senior Owen Glanville-True at the other end. Junior Lucian Matzilevich will also see action at end.
Ian Nathan, Booker and Proctor will be the down linemen with Estey, McKay and Rockwell also in the rotation on the defensive line.
Tennett is the punter and Brenden Russo is the placekicker.
Bangor visited Lewiston for a game on Friday night.
Hersom is getting the opportunity to coach with his father, John, who guided Lawrence High of Fairfield to five regional titles and a state Class A championship in his 20 years as the head coach.
“I’m excited for this group. They are going to continue to get better,” Hersom said. “They’re a coachable group that has done everything we have asked of them.”