For the second straight Friday, the Bangor High football team got on a bus to play a game in Portland. Another 130-mile trip might have been a contributing factor to its slow start against Portland.
It took Bangor until midway through the third quarter to find its stride but once it did, the Rams took control, erasing a 21-0 deficit and riding the three-touchdown, 197-yard rushing performance of Dane Johnson to beat the Bulldogs 28-27 in overtime at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
“We just woke up,” said Johnson, the leading rusher in Eastern Class A. “This was really our first test of the season. We started slowly but Nick Graham’s touchdown in the third quarter got us going.”
Tied 21-21 after regulation, Portland got the ball first in overtime from the 10. On second down, Joe Esposito scored from the 8 to make it 27-21. But the point-after kick by John Williams hit the left upright and caromed away.
Bangor scored on first down when Johnson bulled in. Graham boomed his PAT through the upright to win it.
Bangor won at Deering a week ago.
“We had to get on a bus for the second straight week and we were a little slow getting going,” said Bangor Coach Mark Hackett. “We just had to wake up. We showed a lot of resiliency in coming back. Nick Graham gave us the energy. He saved us.”
Portland took a 14-0 lead in the opening quarter and upped it to 21-0 on a 19-yard run by Esposito with 8:17 in the third.
A good return by the Rams gave them the ball at Portland’s 37. On second down, Graham scored from the 34 after appearing stopped.
“My players thought he was on the ground and let him go,” said Portland Coach Jim Hartman, who said the second half was “excruciating and painful.”
“I don’t know what happened. I’ll have to look at the game film.”
After Graham’s touchdown, Johnson rushed for a 2-point conversion and it was 21-8.
Portland (2-2) got to Bangor’s 27 on its next series but was pushed back and punted. On first down from the 15, Johnson ran 85 yards for a touchdown. Graham’s kick made it 21-15.
A bad snap to punter Jordan Talbot of Portland gave the Rams the ball at the 32. An illegal block on first down cost Bangor 15 yards, but on the next play Jeff Lewis tossed a screen pass to Langston Hamer-Nagle, who rumbled 30 yards to the 17.
One first down later, Johnson scored from the 1 on third down to make it 21-21. The point after to take the lead was blocked.
Bangor missed a chance to win in regulation when Talbot was forced to punt from his end zone with time winding down. Talbot hit a high semi-shank that deflected off Jake Fournier of Bangor at the 7.
Portland recovered and ran out the clock.
The Bulldogs scored on their first series. Getting the ball near midfield, Portland, helped by two penalties, needed only four plays to take the lead. Talbot threw a pass to Austin Phillips for a 43-yard score.
Nick Archambault’s interception and return to Bangor’s 9 late in the first quarter set up Portland’s second touchdown. Talbot scored on a 2-yard run. Williams’ second PAT made it 14-0.
The Bulldogs’ defense kept Bangor’s rushing game in check in the first half.
Starting the second half, Esposito ripped off consecutive runs of 13 and 14 yards. He finished with two touchdowns and 93 yards on 14 carries.
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