FARMINGTON — On a Friday night when the rain intermittently descended hard enough to swallow frogs, squirrels and perhaps small pets, Bangor’s Mike Prentiss admirably digested the Mt. Blue defense.

Prentiss, a senior back who spent his first two varsity seasons at wide receiver, walked away from the buffet table with 39 carries for 329 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Rams to an authoritative 29-7 Pine Tree Conference victory over the Cougars.

Frequently finding his way into the secondary before experiencing initial contact, if he was touched at all, Prentiss rambled for scores of 1, 61, 2 and 9 yards behind fullback Ben Payson and a beefy but athletic offensive line.

Guards Ricky Dexter and Trevor Lagrange, center Eric Anderson and tackles Danny Day and Kyle Oliver provided the push for Prentiss, who also benefited from several missed defensive assignments.

“There were times when their linemen didn’t have to block anybody,” said Mt. Blue coach Gary Parlin. “That isn’t the team we saw play Cheverus last week.”

Neither squad resembled what it was six or seven days ago in this early-season meeting at the Eastern Class A crossroads.

Bangor (2-1) suffered a stunning 6-0 loss at Cheverus.

“That helped us a lot more than we realized at the time,” said Prentiss.

For Mt, Blue, a 41-0 winner over Westbrook last weekend, the follow-up performance represented a return of the defensive difficulties that cropped up in an overtime road loss at Waterville.

The slippery Prentiss sloshed around the Caldwell Field turf to his heart’s content, often catching the Cougars’ linebackers out of position on counter plays.

Offensively, the news wasn’t much better for Mt. Blue (1-2), which mustered only six first downs all night. The Cougars saw only two possessions during a seocnd-half downpour, and Bangor padded a 20-7 halftime lead with two long drives.

One ended in a 21-yard field goal by Jordan Heath midway through the third quarter. Prentiss punctuated the other with his final TD run.

“Thank Mike and the line and Ben Payson for that,” said Bangor coach Mike Hackett. “Ben is like having another lineman out there.”

Before those clock-draining efforts, Prentiss amassed 229 yards prior to intermission.

His 47-yard run a toss play set up the first Bangor score. Two slant passes from Shaun Sullivan to Matt Cassidy and Andrew DeRosa — before the heaviest rain set in — softened the Mt, Blue defense for Prentiss’ longest scoring jaunt and a 14-0 lead at the end of one quarter.

Garrett Lake’s 34-yard strike to Pete Tinguely and a 20-yard shovel pass to Andrew Beaulieu were key plays on a Mt. Blue march that ended with a 4-yard TD run by Lance Meader (17 carries, 48 yards). Will Plancon’s kick cut the gap to 14-7 with 6:35 left in the half.

Prentiss struck again, though, with a long punt return and a 26-yard rush preceding his 2-yard plunge to restore the two-touchdown edge.

Bangor outgained Mt. Blue 482 yards to 132.

“We’re not going to beat them up,” said Parlin. “We played hard. We’re going to watch films Sunday until hopefully we find some answers.”

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