FAIRFIELD — In recent years, a game between the Lawrence and Bangor high school football teams meant a showdown between two of the top teams in the Pine Tree Conference Class A division. Not this year. Not right now, anyway.

On Friday night at Keyes Field, Lawrence showed that it is still the favorite in the conference. Bangor, on the other hand, showed it is a team with some work to do. Lawrence dominated the game, winning 42-12. The Bulldogs are now 2-0. The Rams, 36-28 losers to Brunswick last week, are 0-2.

Additional Photos

BULLDOGS CELEBRATE: Lawrence High School’s Josh Doolan, center, celebrates after an apparent touchdown with teammates Aaron LeFrance, left, and Xavier Lewis in the second quarter against Bangor High School on Friday at Lawrence High School in Fairfield. Doolan’s helmet came off during the play, so the ball was placed on the 10-yard line. Lawrence won 42-12. Staff photo by Michael G. Seamans

“This is the best team, and we knew that,” Bangor coach Mark Hackett said, nodding toward the Lawrence sideline. “We’re just not ready for them right yet.”

With each team’s starters in the game for three quarters, the Bulldogs dominated. In those three quarters, Lawrence built a 42-0 lead and gained 325 yards of offense. Bangor’s first offense managed just 56 yards, with 42 coming on a Cody Chapman (six carries for 53 yards) run late in the third quarter.

“Their tailback (Chapman) is huge. We focused on staying low, hitting him low, and keep pounding on him. We did that the whole game and it turned out to work in our favor,” Lawrence defensive back Anthony Sementelli said.

Added Lawrence coach John Hersom: “We knew they had some nice backs in their backfield, as well as their quarterback. We did spend a lot of time working with our defense defending the run. I think that we honed in on those plays they really like to try to execute in the run game, and I think we did a pretty good job with it.”

Lawrence’s game-opening drive set the tone for the night. The Bulldogs went 64 yards in 14 plays and converted two fourth down tries. Sementelli scored the first of his three touchdowns on a 5-yard run with 5 minutes, 38 seconds left in the first quarter to give Lawrence a 7-0 lead.

“The offensive line, those holes were huge. It really didn’t take that much to hit them, and they kept it up the whole game,” Sementelli, who ran for 94 yards on 16 carries, said. “I was telling the line the whole time, ‘If you get a good block, I’ll hit it and I’ll get it in the end zone.’ They did it the whole game.”

On Lawrence’s next drive, Xavier Lewis, who went to Bangor last year, found space in the middle of the field and caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from Spencer Carey, making it 13-0. After Mason Travers recovered a Bangor fumble on the kickoff, Sementelli went up the middle 21 yards for a touchdown, and Carey added the conversion to make it 21-0 late in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs showcased their depth, with seven different players carrying the ball at least once in the first half.

“Those are athletes we don’t have every season,” Hersom said. “They’re smart and experienced kids. I don’t think they’re going to take anyone lightly.”

Sementelli added a 5-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, and in the third, Lewis scored on a 13-yard run and Josh Doolan (six carries, 95 yards) added a 7-yard scoring run to push Lawrence’s lead to 42-0.

With both teams playing their junior varsity units, Bangor scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns. Jake Lavoie had a 4-yard touchdown run, and as time expired, Alex Welch ran 45 yards for a touchdown.

“They’re aggressive on defense. They’re better than we are. They’re stronger, they’re more aggressive,” Hackett said. “They play through space. Every aspect of the game, they beat us tonight.”

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

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