Controlling time of possession is fine, but scoring quickly was the difference in the Class A North football championship game Friday evening at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

While third-seeded Bangor was able to hold the ball for almost the whole first quarter and get into the end zone, it was top-ranked Portland’s ability to strike quickly that led the Bulldogs to a repeat regional title.

Second-quarter touchdowns from Louis Thurston, Aidan McGowan and Charlie Abramson-Thompson broke it open, giving the Bulldogs a 20-point halftime advantage, and they tacked on three more touchdowns in the third quarter on the way to a 54-14 victory.

Cordell Jones, McGowan and Thurston all rushed for over 100 yards as Portland (9-2) advanced to its third straight state final to face either Thornton Academy or Noble on Nov. 23 at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.

“It starts up front with our line, and obviously our tight ends and our H-backs,” said Portland Coach Sean Green. “Our running backs and receivers get involved in the blocking, and from there, the playmakers just have to make plays when the lanes are there.”

After losing in the state final the past two seasons, the Bulldogs wanted no part of the regional final trophy, allowing the waterboys to handle it in the postgame ceremony. Instead, they have their sights set on winning the program’s first Gold Ball since 2002.

“I’m grateful to be in this position, but the next one means everything,” Thurston said.

Portland needed just over a minute to score first, as Jones ran it in from the 2. Bangor (5-6), though, responded with a 13-play drive that chewed up more than nine minutes and ended with a 10-yard run from quarterback Kyle Johnson.

When Thurston was stripped of the ball on the ensuing series, the Rams took over at the Portland 31 and had a chance to go in front. Johnson fumbled when was sacked by Anthony Tavares, and Carter Lucca recovered for Portland.

“We talk about how much we love adversity,” Green said. “We didn’t want to give them any oxygen in this game, but unfortunately we did. You have to love that type of response to that and our willingness to battle through the adversity.”

By halftime, the Bulldogs were firmly in control, as Thurston scored on a 3-yard run, McGowan broke free for a 33-yard TD, and with just 4.9 seconds to go, Thurston connected with Abramson-Thompson on an 8-yard scoring pass for a 27-7.

“It just worked out, we found the gap,” Thurston said of the touchdown pass.

With the Portland defense smothering Johnson to the tune of eight sacks, the Bulldogs were able to break away in the third quarter.

After McGowan scored on a 5-yard run, Zac Cota’s 1-yard TD run pulled the Rams within 34-14. McGowan then scored again from the 5, and after Portland recovered an onside kick, Thurston fired a 49-yard bomb to Jones to make it 48-14.

A Jones 2-yard scamper in the fourth quarter accounted for the final score.

“Everybody just did their job,” said senior Lisandro Rodrigues, who was involved on several of the sacks. “We were just resilient, and we wanted to win. We’re just being dogs. We wanted to go 1-0 on every play.

“Next week, we just have to play as a team and go behind Coach Green, and we think we can go win it.”