Despite losing their only playoff game, the Bangor High School football team had a memorable season last fall.
The team finished 7-3, equalling its total number of wins from 2015 through 2019.
Bangor even hosted a playoff game for the first time since 2014.
The Rams will have an entirely new look this season after losing 27 seniors and standout tight end Landon Clark, who would have been a junior but has transferred to St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire.
Bangor had its first official practice on the artificial turf at Cameron Stadium on Monday as the fall sports season got underway across the state. Aroostook County, which has an extensive break for the potato harvest, started its fall sports season on July 25.
Fifty-two players are on the roster and fifth-year head coach David Morris is excited about the upcoming season despite the fact he will have only two returning starters: offensive linemen Austin Lozano and Isaac Osborne.
Lozano is a guard, and Osborne plays guard and also gets some reps at tackle.
He doesn’t have any returning starters on defense although Lozano and Osborne did see some duty on the defensive front a year ago.
“We’re young, but we’re going to be fine,” Morris said. “We have great kids. We have a good older group and a very good freshman class. They’re all very dedicated.”
The team worked out together over the summer and has a new weight room at Cameron Stadium. Around 35 players showed up for each summer workout, Morris said.
It will take time to build an identity, said the 56-year-old coach, and they will do so by “bunching together a lot of great practices. We’re going to take it one day at a time.”
The team will practice at Cameron Stadium throughout the preseason before switching to one practice a week there once school starts, and practicing at their grass field at the high school the rest of the time.
“We like our own practice field at the high school as well. But it’s nice to be down here,” Morris said. “Not everybody has a turf field. We’re pretty lucky.”
The boys and girls soccer teams and the field hockey team will also practice at Cameron Stadium during the preseason.
Class A Bangor will play six of the other seven teams in the statewide division and will also have three games against Class B North teams, including archrival Brewer to open the season on Sept. 2 at Cameron Stadium.
It won’t play Oxford Hills of South Paris, state runner up to Thornton Academy of Saco a year ago. Thornton Academy won the title game 42-27.
Brewer was 1-8 a year ago including a loss to Cony of Augusta in its B North quarterfinal.
The Rams will then visit Lewiston (1-7 last year) on Sept. 9 and Class B Lawrence of Fairfield (6-4) on the 16th before returning home to play its final B opponent, Skowhegan (5-5) on Sept. 23.
They will close out the month against Thornton Academy in Saco (10-0) on Sept. 30 before opening October against the team that exited them from the quarterfinals, Scarborough (5-3), in Scarborough on Oct. 7.
Bangor closes out its regular season schedule at home against Edward Little of Auburn (0-8) on Oct. 14, on the road at Sanford (3-4) on Oct. 21 and at Cameron against Bonny Eagle of Buxton (5-4) on Oct. 28.
The other state champions a year ago were Marshwood of South Berwick, a 14-13 winner over Windham in the Class B final; Cape Elizabeth in Class C by virtue of a 53-8 victory over Winslow; and Foxcroft Academy from Dover-Foxcroft, which topped Winthrop/Monmouth Academy/Hall-Dale 19-16 in the Class D title game.
Marshwood’s title was its fourth in a row and Thornton Academy captured its second in three years and fourth in seven.
Foxcroft Academy’s last previous title came in 2012 in Class C.
Cape Elizabeth was a first time state champion.
In eight-player football, Cheverus of Portland beat Waterville 56-0 for the large school title and Dexter edged Maranacook of Readfield 34-30 for the small school championship.
This season, the eight-player state championship games will be held on Nov. 12 at Cony High School.
The four regular state championship games will be held on Nov. 19, with Classes A and B being played at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland and the Class C and D games at Cameron Stadium in Bangor.
