Bangor lost a hard-fought battle with reigning Class A state champs Oxford Hills on Monday night, ultimately falling 39-14. It was their first loss at home all year, and on their Senior Night.
Bangor started out strong, with the Ram defense sticking it to Oxford Hills for most of the first half. Led by sophomores Kyle Johnson and Zac Coda, Bangor courageously forced two Viking fumbles and two punts. But a last-second, 46-yard hail mary by the Vikings broke the Rams’ hearts right before the break — with Oxford Hills taking a 20-14 lead into halftime that proved to be enough for the win.
In the first quarter, the Rams had quickly built a 14-6 lead less than six minutes into play, keyed by two rousing touchdowns from Johnson and senior co-captain Xavier Pike.
On the opening kickoff, Pike got the crowd going by returning the ball 80 yards all the way to the endzone. Pike found a seam on the right side, racing with the ball past the state champs and up the Bangor sideline. It was his first varsity touchdown.
“Opening up with that — especially on Senior Night — I almost cried,” Pike said. “Seeing [quarterback Jack] Schuck’s reaction as he jumped up to me; that’s what it’s all about.”
On the Rams’ next drive, Johnson bookended his first of two forced fumbles and recoveries with an athletic 25-yard rushing touchdown, cutting back at the Oxford Hills five-yard line to overpower two Viking defenders.
“Hustle, hard work and dedication — we showed that all night tonight.” Johnson said. “From everybody on the field, it didn’t matter who it was. That’s what contributed to those big turnovers that we had.”
Johnson poked the ball loose from experienced senior running backs Hunter Tardiff and Jacob Carson once apiece, helping disrupt the Vikings’ offensive rhythm in the first half. By the final buzzer, the Rams’ defensive line had tallied multiple tackles for losses plus a quarterback sack. Linebacker and team co-captain Coda added some key pass breakups up the middle as well.
“The seniors have made us into leaders,” Coda said. “That effort was there. We hung with a state championship team the whole game.”
In the second half, the Oxford Hills defense took its turn holding stout, despite two successful hard counts by Schuck, and a 35-yard fake punt pass by sophomore utility man Ted Stephenson. Strong play from the Vikings’ defensive line — combined with the wet weather — frustrated the Rams’ passing game all night, and helped Oxford Hills maintain possession in crunch time.
The Vikings finally built an insurmountable lead in the fourth quarter, with two long touchdown passes into single coverage. Sophomore Braden Murch and junior Brady Delamater caught and ran for scores of 65 and 49 yards, respectively.
With the loss, the fourth place Rams fell to 4-5, and will be eliminated from playoff contention should Lewiston beat winless Edward Little on Wednesday. Many of the Rams were very emotional after the game, considering it could be the last time this unit ever plays together as a team.
“We go out there and play for each other, and put our hearts on the line,” senior quarterback and co-captain Jack Schuck said. “That’s what Bangor stands for — family, and just, love. I’m so proud of everybody on this team. I’m never going to let this team go.”
