BANGOR

The first blow staggered the Dragons. The second shot left Brunswick nearly out on its feet. The third was the knockout blow.

The second-seeded Bangor High School football team dealt No. 3 Brunswick a humbling defeat on Friday night in the Eastern Maine Class A semifinals at Cameron Stadium, rolling to a 42-14 victory and ending the Dragons’ season in a stunning, complete performance by the hosts.

Cody Chapman returned the opening kickoff 87 yards, breaking two arm tackles on his way to the endzone for a quick 7- 0 Rams lead, and a fumble on Brunswick’s first offensive series led to a 27- yard pass from quarterback Carl Farnham to Ellis Throckmorton for a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

Jared Jensen’s 68-yard run gave Brunswick some momentum late in the first quarter, but Zeb Tuell’s 68- yard scamper untouched through the Dragon defense put the visitors away. Chapman’s 4-yard TD run up the middle made it 28- 7 at the half.

“All the credit this time goes to Bangor,” said Brunswick coach Dan Cooper, whose squad finished 7- 3, while Bangor heads to the Eastern A final at No. 1 Lawrence (10-0) this upcoming Friday. “ Bangor outcoached us, outplayed us and outhit us, and there is nothing we could do tonight. It was the only time this season where our defense just didn’t have it.

“Plus, we made some critical mistakes, and Bangor kept the foot on the gas.”

Tuell rushed for 143 yards on 19 carries, while Chapman added 52 yards, including a 6- yard TD run in the third quarter for a 35-7 lead before Tuell’s 51-yard screen catch and run made it a 42-7 contest after three quarters.

The Rams rushed for 210 yards as a team, while Farnham’s strong, accurate arm gave the Brunswick defense fits throughout. He finished 6- of- 8 for 106 yards and two touchdowns.

“ Our seniors were not going to be denied tonight,” said Bangor coach Mark Hackett, who admitted that “ when I looked at the film from our first game against Brunswick (a 21-20 Rams victory), I was quite nervous. We took our lumps that first night, but I felt us playing Skowhegan (a Bangor win) and them having to play Mt. Ararat (a 51-0 Brunswick victory) last week helped us to get ready for this night.”

A rout begins

Chapman grabbed the opening kickoff at the Rams 13-yard line. He did nothing special as he headed straight up the gut, broke free of a couple Brunswick arms tackles and found daylight. He outsprinted the rest of the Dragons, and Farnham’s point-after kick made it 7-0 just 15 seconds in.

“Them taking the kickoff to the house deflated us, and I thought we were on our heels the rest of the game,” said senior Brunswick tight end/ defensive lineman Hunter Ouellette. “ On offense, all they did was run up the middle, playing smashmouth football, unlike the last time when they tried to go wide on us.”

“We grew as a team all year and discovered things about us,” said Hackett. “They just kept growing as the season went on.”

Brunswick’s first drive had a familiar tone it. The opener against Bangor saw the Dragons put the ball on the ground six times, and a lost fumble, recovered by Rams defensive lineman Ken Reed gave Bangor the ball at the Brun-36.

Facing a third-down and 11, Farnham fired a laser that Throckmorton grabbed while tumbling backwards into the endzone for a 14-0 with 7:06 remaining in the first quarter.

Brunswick answered a minute later when Jensen ran straight ahead for a 68-yard score, with Jordan Rysdam’s kick getting the Dragons into the game, and the Brunswick defense behind Pablo Maderal and Keith Kitchens stacked up Tuell on third down to force a punt on the next Bangor series.

Both defenses stiffened throughout the rest of the opening quarter.

Bangor took over after a short Brunswick punt at its own 29-yard line. Two plays later, Tuell delivered a fatal blow, breaking through the Dragons’ defensive line and into the secondary on his way to a 68- yard run and a 21- 7 Rams lead.

“ We had the momentum before that run, and that shift, with their runner scoring untouched hurt,” said Ouellette.

Another short punt later in the quarter gave the Rams a first down at the Brun-41, and Chapman’s 4-yard run up the middle made it 28-7 at the half.

Cooper made a switch at quarterback, going with senior Ezra Drehobl early in the second half. His 18-yard pass to Ouellette was good for a first down on his first heave, but the drive stalled when starting quarterback Jason Carter’s screen pass to Dylan Walton was blown up by Bangor cornerback Wyatt Frost for a 2-yard loss to give the Rams the ball on downs.

Bangor drove 57 yards on nine plays, eating up four minutes of the clock, with Chapman’s third TD (6-yard run) making it 35-7, and Farnham’s screen pass to Tuell went for a 51-yard score for a 42-7 Rams edge as the game slipped into the final 12 minutes.

Walton, who picked up 50 yards on 14 carries, scored for Brunswick with 3:39 left to complete the scoring.

The loss ended the high school playing careers of Drehobl, Trent Anderson, Dan Thompson, Alex Emery, Walton, Brandon Nezol, Tom Purington, Sam Bessey, Garrett Erb, Kitchens, Ouellette, Jesse Bennett, Robby Klatt, Brandon Smith, Patrick Garrett, Robert Trimmer, Justin Libby, Alec Monegue and Maderal.

“These are seniors who put in the time in the gym to get ready for their final season, so that is always a tough thing when the season ends, especially like this,” said Cooper.

Sam Bessey led the Dragons with 11 tackles and a fumble recovery, while Rysdam, Maderal and Kitchens had eight tackles.

For Bangor, Throckmorton, Wyatt Frost and Chapman each made 11 stops.

Jensen led Brunswick’s 209- yard rushing attack with 107 yards on eight carries, while Carter and Drehobl combined to go 4-of-12 for 25 yards.

Bangor had 10 first downs to Brunswick’s seven, and outgained the Dragons 316- 234.

No. 2 Bangor 42, No. 3 Brunswick 14

Brunswick– 70 07–14
Bangor – 14 14 14 0 – 42

First quarter

Ban – Cody Chapman 87 kickoff return (Carl Farnham kick), 11:45.

Ban – Ellis Throckmorton 27 pass from Carl Farnham (Carl Farnham kick), 7:06.

Brun – Jared Jensen 68 run (Jordan Rysdam kick), 6:00.

Second quarter

Ban – Zeb Tuell 68 run (pass failed), 10:51.

Ban – Cody Chapman 4 run (Xavier Lewis pass from Carl Farnham), 2:33.

Third quarter

Ban – Cody Chapman 6 run (Carl Farnham kick), 5:30.

Ban – Zeb Tuell 51 pass from Carl Farnham ( Carl Farnham kick), 1:35.

Fourth quarter

Brun – Dylan Walton 11 run (Jordan Rysdam kick), 3:39.

Records – Bangor 8- 2, Brunswick 7-3.

Next – The Rams travel to No. 1 Lawrence ( 10- 0) this upcoming Friday at 7 p.m.; Brunswick season is concluded.