When Cheverus running back Joe Fitzpatrick takes the ball outside on a sweep, don’t think for a second that he is headed out of bounds. Fitzpatrick likes to cut upfield and charge into the first tackler in his path.
And when he’s angry, Fitzpatrick isn’t hauled down so easily.
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Fitzpatrick bottled his emotions and ran for 175 yards on 24 carries Saturday afternoon to lead the Stags to 28-14 win in an Eastern Class A showdown at Boulos Stadium.
Isaac Dunn threw two touchdown passes, and the Cheverus defense contained Bangor’s pounding run attack.
Cheverus (6-1) is assured a bye in the playoffs and is shooting for the No. 1 seed in the East. Bangor dropped to 5-2.
“We wanted to secure a specific spot in the playoffs,” said Fitzpatrick.
For all his accomplishments, it was Fitzpatrick’s fumble early in the fourth quarter that gave Bangor momentum and the ball on its own 32. The Rams were trailing 21-14.
“Any time that happens, it’s my fault and I’m killing myself on the sidelines,” Fitzpatrick said. “I have to make up for it.”
Cheverus’ defense gave him that chance, forcing Bangor to punt.
With Fitzpatrick bursting for gains of 23 and 33 yards, the Stags drove down the field.
“I was running kind of angry,” Fitzpatrick said.
Justin Johnston finished the drive with a 1-yard run and Cheverus led 28-14 with 5:06 left – too little time for the Rams to come back.
“I think they’re the best team in the state right now,” Bangor Coach Mark Hackett said. “But, we’re close. It was a good football game.”
Cheverus won with defense. Bangor running back Dane Johnson came in with 1,175 yards, averaging nearly 200 per game. He was held to 83 yards on 21 carries.
“They’re a smash-mouth team and we had to adjust,” Stags linebacker Zach Handley said. “If we stopped their run, we had them stopped.”
Handley, fellow linebacker Matt Drouin and tackles Dan O’Brion and Frank Curran closed the holes quickly against Johnson.
The Rams were 4 of 12 passing for 37 yards. Cheverus recorded five quarterback sacks.
“Very stout defensive effort,” Cheverus Coach John Wolfgram said. “Bangor’s good. Very physical. Very big. I thought our kids played real tough on the line of scrimmage and were real disciplined in the secondary.”
Bangor grabbed an early 7-0 lead, but Cheverus quickly answered. Dunn’s 32-yard pass to Kenny Drelich set up Fitzpatrick’s 15-yard touchdown run, as he carried two Rams into the end zone.
Cheverus went up 14-7 on a 32-yard pass to Liam LaFountain later in the quarter, then made it 21-7 in the second quarter when Dunn connected with Zordan Holman for a 16-yard TD.
Bangor use a 17-play, 8½-minute drive in the third quarter to close to 21-14, then got the ball back after Fitzpatrick’s fumble.
But the Stags stopped Bangor at midfield, and Fitzpatrick got his chance at redemption.
“They have some pretty big kids out there, but our line has a lot of grit,” said Fitzpatrick. His blocking corps of O’Brion, Nick Noyes, Drek Dumond, Handley and Curran opened the way.
Cheverus has a home game with city rival Deering left on its schedule. Bangor plays host to Oxford Hills.
“Got another week and then we’ll be in the playoffs,” Hackett said. “We’ll have to reload and play these good teams again.”
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