Lehigh Valley high school football: Bangor preps for second half, routs Wilson
It was quick and painless.
Bangor maintained momentum built from last week’s win and left Wilson’s Smith Field with the same healthy players who started Saturday afternoon’s game in the rain.
Greg Campbell and Noah Hillis each ran for three first-half touchdowns and totaled 288 rushing yards in a 41-0 victory over the Warriors.
“We knew the rain was not stopping anytime soon,” Campbell said. “We just executed the game plan and moved forward.
“The line was perfect. They were opening up holes on every play. That gave Noah and I space to make plays.”
Bangor scored the first five times it touched the ball and led by 41 points at halftime, putting the second half in the mercy rule running clock.
M.J. Sui’s 35-yard kick return gave the Slaters a good start. Campbell converted a third down with a 9-yard run. Hillis then scooted around the right end for a 30-yard touchdown on the next play for a 7-0 lead.
After forcing a 3-and-out, Bangor needed only two plays to score again. A 49-yard pass from Campbell to Sui was followed by Hillis’ 25-yard TD scamper again around right end.
A personal foul penalty set back Wilson’s next drive that ended with the second of its six punts. Two plays later, Hillis found the end zone for a third time from four yards out for 21-0 cushion.
“We didn’t take anything for granted coming in,” Bangor coach Paul Reduzzi said. “There were things we thought we’d be able to take advantage of on both sides of the ball. I’m happy the kids were focused and did that.”
An interception by Meysun Gray — the game’s only turnover — was followed four plays later by Campbell’s first touchdown, a 7-yard run for a 27-0 Bangor advantage.
Wilson got a first down on its next series but stalled when its next three plays netted zero yards and led to another punt.
Eight plays later, Campbell’s 6-yard TD run pushed the advantage to 34-0 with 9:47 left in the first half.
The Slaters defense was dominant. It registered two sacks and nine other tackles for loss. Tim McLain had a sack and three other tackles for loss. Dylan Krugh and Sam Woolverton, who is just working his way back after missing time with an injury, each had a pair of tackles for loss.
Alex Farensbach, Riley Waldron and Tyler Campbell also contributed tackles behind the line of scrimmage as Bangor limited Wilson to 58 yards offense and four first downs.
The Slaters’ line play on both sides of the ball was pivotal to the team’s success.
“A lot [of our running success] was up front, too,” Reduzzi said. “Our line is maturing as the season goes on, we have some veterans, but we have some newcomers, too. We’ve got some guys getting healthy, too, which is helping us. Even if they are not starting, they are getting those better looks in practice.
“[McLain] has stepped up and is playing well on the inside [on defense]. I think our big guys up front eat a lot of space. Jacob Weaver and Gavin Nelson on the ends have been solid. We get solid coverage, which allows our guys up front to be aggressive. And our guys [in the secondary] aren’t afraid to come up and make a play.”
Bangor (4-1) sits third in the race for the District 11 Class 4A four-team postseason tournament. Its schedule gets tougher in the coming weeks, starting Friday against visiting Pottsville — which is fifth in the 4A standings and owns a 4-0 advantage in the series.
“We haven’t been able to beat them,” Reduzzi said. “We had a game last year come down to the last series when we made a mistake. We played them tough at home a couple years ago. It’s going to be old-style football.”
Games against unbeaten 3A Northwestern (5-0) and Blue Mountain (3-2), which is fourth in 4A, follow in October.
Morning Call reporter Tom Housenick can be reached at 610-820-6651 or at thousenick@mcall.com
BANGOR 47, WILSON 0
Bangor: 27; 14; 0; 0 — 41
Wilson: 0; 0; 0; 0 — 0
ORDER OF SCORING
First quarter
B: Noah Hillis 30 run (M.J. Sui kick), 10:24
B: Hillis 25 run (Sui kick), 8:21
B: Hillis 4 run (Sui kick), 6:01
B: Greg Campbell 7 run (kick blocked), 2:54
Second quarter
B: Campbell 6 run (Sui kick), 9:47
B: Campbell 70 run (Sui kick), 3:04
TEAM STATISTICS
Ban; Wil
First downs; 13; 4
Rushes-yards; 33-321; 31-37
Passing yards; 67; 21
Comp-Att-INTs; 3-8-0; 4-13-1
Punts-avg.; 1-36; 6-35.8
Fumbles-lost 3-0; 0-0
Penalties-yards 7-55; 4-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: (Bangor) Noah Hillis 11-146, 3 TDs; Greg Campbell 7-142, 3 TDs; team 2(-15); Lucas Hurd 3-(-7); Riley Waldron 5-41; Alex Farensbach 1-18; Jaxson Kreide 2-5; Justin Araujo 1-0; Jace LaBar 1-(-9); (Wilson) Jeramy Cressman 12-16; Rodney Bronson 10-12; Ian Feckete 2-(-4); Marcel Days 1-1; J’Son Johnson 2-1.
Passing: (Bangor) Campbell 2-4-0, 53 yards; Kreider 1-4-0, 14 yards; (Wilson) Cressman 4-12-1, 21 yards; Jaxson Tadayeshy 0-1-0.
Receiving: (Bangor) M.J. Sui 1-49; Gavin Nelson 1-4; LaBar 1-14; (Wilson) Nathan King 2-8; Bronson 2-13.
