BANGOR

Bangor used great defense and four first-half touchdowns from tailback Cody Chapman to get a dominating 42-0 Pine Tree Conference football victory over Mt. Ararat High School on a rainy Friday night at Cameron Stadium.

Bangor (2-3) got off to a hot start as Chapman bolted down the sideline on the first play from scrimmage for a 70- yard touchdown, giving the Rams an early 7-0 lead after Carl Farnham kicked the extra point.

Chapman finished with seven carries for 172 yards and four touchdowns, all coming in the first half.

“You have to make a big statement and score touchdowns early, and we stuck with that throughout the game,” said Chapman.

After a fumble by Bangor, the Eagles (0-5 and scheduled to host Edward Little on Saturday) took over on their own 23-yard line. They were quick to return the favor on the following play as senior quarterback Jake Liedman had his pass tipped, resulting in an interception at the line of scrimmage by lineman Garrett Strout, who finished with six tackles.

Three plays later, Chapman shed one tackle and ran over another potential Eagles tackler on his way to his second touchdown of the day from seven yards out.

“Cody Chapman had his coming out party last year against this team at the same time. He’s been hurt with a bad shoulder, played some defense last week, but tonight he really popped,” said Bangor head coach Mark Hackett.

Later in the quarter, the Eagles fumbled a snap at their own 1-yard line, giving Bangor great field position even after a 15-yard penalty moved the ball back to the 16, where Chapman ran in for his third touchdown on the next play. After another Farnham kick, Bangor took a 21-0 lead with just over a minute to play.

“It was huge to get out to a good start,” said Hackett.

Chapman was doing it all for Bangor on this night.

He paced the defense with two tackles for a loss, including a highlight sack on Eagles quarterback Liedman, making great contact as he flew up from the linebacker position to stop the scrambling quarterback. On the offensive side, when Chapman wasn’t carrying the ball, he was the lead blocker for fellow tailback Zeb Tuell, who had 63 yards on nine carries.

Trap play does it

With just over six minutes to play in the second quarter, Bangor ran a trap play, springing Chapman free for a 57-yard touchdown and his fourth score of the half. Bangor went into the intermission leading 28-0.

“It’s been rough for awhile, but we got some guys back and it’s a big difference in spirit and emotion. We looked like a pretty good football team tonight,” said Hackett.

Bangor continued to pound the rock in the second half as sophomore tailback Jake Lavoie scored a touchdown with just over seven minutes left in the third quarter. Tailback Logan Lanham chipped in an insurance touchdown late in the fourth quarter to round out the scoring and give the Rams the 42-0 win.

Bangor starting quarterback Farnham finished 2-of-6, passing for 21 yards.

Mt. Ararat was led by senior tailback Joey Burr, who had 45 yards on 14 carries. Liedman finished 5-of-14, passing for 95 yards with an interception and a fumble.

Bangor hosts Oxford Hills this upcoming Friday at 7 p.m., while the Eagles return home for a 1:30 p.m. contest against Edward Little on Saturday.

FOR MORE, see the Bangor Daily News at new.bangordailynews.com

Comments are not available on this story.