Bangor celebrated homecoming Friday night by pounding for six touchdowns against Edward Little, en route to a 42-26 victory at Cameron Stadium.
With the win, Bangor improved to 4-3 and strengthened its grasp on the fourth Class A North playoff spot. All four of Bangor’s victories have been at home.
The ground game came up big for the Rams and their fans, accounting for five of Bangor’s touchdowns and 252 total yards.
Junior Jackson Varney electrified the gridiron with his speed and agility, dashing for 135 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries, plus a 17-yard return off an interception of senior Edward Little quarterback Kade Masselli.
“It was one of those games,” Varney said. “It feels great.”
Complementing Varney’s quickness was the power of sophomore running back Kyle Johnson, who finished with three all-purpose touchdowns and 131 total yards.
Johnson punched in two Bangor touchdowns at the goal line, and also took a Jack Schuck screen pass 17 yards to the end zone right before the end of the second quarter.
“I’m like the downhill running back, and Jackson’s that speed guy,” Johnson said. “It’s a deadly combo. I feel like we work well together.”
In addition to Varney’s first quarter interception, junior Nevin Howell also picked off Edward Little in the second half and forced one of two Red Eddy fumbles. Nowell tackled a scrambling Masselli from behind, punching the ball out near the Edward Little 23-yard line.
“I just had aggression and consistency,” Nowell said. “That’s how you make plays, [by] building momentum off that consistency. It felt really awesome to help my team out.”
Bangor buckled down after quickly giving up two Edward Little touchdowns early in the third quarter.
The Rams had a 21-6 lead going into the break, which quickly shrank to a 21-20 lead. They retaliated by orchestrating two Varney touchdown drives on offense and a couple forced punts on defense to lock down the win.
“I’m really proud of our guys,” head coach Dave Morris said. “They won the game — the players won that game.”
Next up, Bangor will play two of Class A’s best teams in 5-2 Noble away, and reigning state champs Oxford Hills — who also have a 5-2 record — at home for the Rams’ senior night on Oct. 27, at 7 p.m.
“There’s not a bad team in [Class A] North or South,” Morris said. “We’re going to respect who we’re gonna play and take it one game at a time.”
