BANGOR – Bangor coach Mark Hackett caused a bit of a stir when he announced before the season that he would be installing the Wing-T offense. If any skeptics remain after Friday night’s dismantling of Lewiston, they’re not going to be heard from for at least another week.

Bangor found the end zone on eight of its 11 possessions, and while the Rams didn’t have a lot more success stopping Lewiston’s offense, they made three key stops in the first half to post a 56-35 victory at Cameron Stadium.

No. 2 Bangor will meet top-seeded Lawrence next week in a rematch of last year’s Pine Tree Conference championship. The third-seeded Blue Devils’ season, meanwhile, ends for the second straight year in Bangor.

“I thought they were awesome offensively,” Lewiston coach Bill County said of Bangor. “They were quick. They had a nice blocking scheme. They mixed it up well.”

Bangor implemented the new offense in order to take advantage of its array of skill players, and three of those players showcased their talents Friday night. Shane Walton rushed for 199 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries, while Kyle Vanidestine added 105 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Quarterback Ian Edwards threw the ball just five times, but he completed four of those, including two for scores.

“We need work on defense, but offensively, we’re just so determined, and we’re so tough and have so many weapons right now that we can spread the field right now a lot of different ways,” Hackett said. “That offense struggled a little bit early (in the season). We still scored quite a few points, but we have a lot of real good athletes, and the line plays real dynamically, and the quarterback’s just kind of taken charge down the stretch.”

Lewiston (8-2) matched Bangor yard for yards (414-414), and picked up 24 first downs to Bangor’s nine. QB Mason Giroux completed 22-of-35 passes for 217 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He also ran for three touchdowns. Alfonzo Brooks caught nine passes for 93 yards and the touchdown, while Wesley Myers had six receptions for 122 yards and 89 yards rushing and a touchdown on 21 carries.

“In the second half, we sat back there in the shotgun, and we let our athletes be athletes,” County said. “That side of the game was enjoyable, but obviously every time we score, they come back and score one. You get into a one step up, two steps back situation.”

Bangor (9-1) won the regular-season meeting between the two teams, 28-27 in overtime, but had to overcome a 21-0 halftime deficit to do it. Hoping for a better start this time, the Rams got it when Walton rushed through a huge hole of the left side on the fourth play of the game for a 57-yard touchdown.

“We came out with a lot of momentum unlike the last game,” said Walton. “The line did great, opened up big holes for the backs. Ian was on with the passing game.”

Lewiston’s response was exactly what it could have hoped for – a grinding 17-play, 83-yard drive capped by Myers’ 2-yard TD run to tie it. But Bangor answered back with what turned out to be its longest drive of the game – a nine-play, 60-yard march that Walton ended with a five-yard scoring run.

The Rams stopped the Devils three-and-out the next two times they had the ball. After the first series, Vanidestine ran 42 yards on a reverse to make it 20-7.

Aside from a fumble late in the game and a knee taken to end it, Bangor’s offense was stopped just once, on 4th and a long 1 at the Lewiston 27 late in the second quarter. The Rams’ defense returned the favor, though, stuffing Matt Letourneau on a fake punt attempt at the Devils’ 34. Bangor needed just two plays from there – a 28-yard run by Vanidestine and a 6-yard TD run by Walton, along with a two-point conversion – to make it 28-7.

Lewiston looked like it might seize some momentum going into halftime as Giroux drove the Devils from their own 28 deep into Bangor territory in less than a minute, but Vanidestine picked off a pass at his own 18 to keep the cushion at three touchdowns.

“We thought we’d have to stop them three or four times today to win,” Hackett said.

Giroux cut the deficit in half with a 2-yard TD sneak on the opening series of the second half, but Bangor proved it would just be more of the same when Walton scored with a 55-yard run on the second play from scrimmage.

“We came out here wanting to open seams for our running back and block for our quarterback, and we just came out here and did our job,” said Bangor senior lineman Tyler McDade. “The backs know where the hole is, they find it, and after that they’ll break a couple of tackles and get a couple of extra yards.”

A Walton interception on Lewiston’s ensuing possession set up Bangor’s next score, a 30-yard TD toss from Edwards to Tyler Pembroke to make it 42-14. The Blue Devils got two more touchdown runs from Giroux and a 7-yard TD pass from Giroux to Brooks, but never got any closer than 21 points.

“I’m proud of the way my kids played all year long. They’re great kids,” County said. “Defensively, we just came up short tonight.”