BANGOR — If the Bangor High School doubted if it was once again in contention in Class A following a 71-point loss at Thornton Academy a few weeks ago, the Rams erased those doubt Friday night.
Ryan Howard caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Max Clark with 49.5 seconds left, and the Rams got two defensive stops in the closing minutes to take a 37-30 win over Bonny Eagle at Cameron Stadium.
Bangor is now 7-1, while Bonny Eagle is 4-3.
Bonny Eagle led 30-23 late in the third quarter after Nic Klein scored on a 2-yard run, and added the 2-point conversion. Bangor responded with a scoring drive of its own, culminating with Colton Emerson’s 11-yard touchdown catch from Clark, their second scoring connection of the second half, to tie the game at 30-30 with 10:45 to play.
The Rams stopped Bonny Eagle on downs at the Bangor 15 with 7:27 to play, and marched to the Scot 13 before losing the ball on downs themselves with 2:52 left. With 1:26 left, Bangor’s Cabryn Streams recovered a Bonny Eagle fumble, setting up the game-winning drive.
Starting on the Bonny Eagle 35, Clark opened the drive with a 29-yard pass to Howard (three catches for 72 yards) to set up first and goal at the six. On second-and-goal from the 5, Clark (242 yards passing) rolled to his right, finding Howard open on the goal line for the go-ahead score.
The Scots pushed the ball to the Bangor 31 with 18.6 seconds left, but a block in the back penalty set the Scot back, and Bangor sacked Terrell Edwards on the final play to end the game.
Special teams came up big for Bangor on a pair of first-half scoring plays, and twice cost the Rams, too. Howard returned the opening kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown, finding a seam down the left sideline, and the Rams led 7-0 13 seconds into the game.
With the game tied 14-14 midway through the second quarter, Bangor picked up a safety when Bonny Eagle punter Don Gordon couldn’t handle the snap and was tackled in the end zone, giving the Rams a 16-14 lead with 7:40 left in the half.
Bangor had punting trouble of it’s own, however, with two first-half punts blocked. After the first, the Scots went 68 yards in seven plays, tying the game at 14-14 when Aidan Walcott ran 20 yards on a sweep to the right for a score on the first play of the second quarter.
The Scots took over on Bangor’s 17-yard line after the second block, and needed just two plays to take the lead. Nik Klein’s 7-yard touchdown run and ensuing 2-point conversion run gave Bonny Eagle a 22-16 it carried into the half.
Bangor had all the momentum early, holding the Scots to a three-and-out after opening the game with Howard’s kick-return touchdown. After forcing a punt, Bangor went 61 yards in nine plays, taking a 14-0 lead on quarterback Max Clark’s 1-yard touchdown run.
Bonny Eagle answered with a scoring drive of its own, with Zac Oja scoring on a 3-yard run. Oja, Bonny Eagle’s leading rusher, was injured on the play and did not return in the first half. Oja returned in the fourth quarter and finished with 76 yards rushing. Klein led the Scots with 145 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns.
Bangor had a chance to take a lead into halftime, with first and goal at the Scots 10, but the drive stalled at the three.
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