BANGOR — The Messalonskee High football team knew it couldn't give up many big plays against Bangor.
It's one thing to know that. It's another to stop a team as talented as Bangor from breaking a long one.
The Rams mounted one long drive with durable running back Lonnie Hackett on Friday night, but they didn't need to lean on Eastern Class A's leading rusher. Top-ranked Bangor capitalized on three big plays to earn a 25-13 win over fourth-seeded Messalonskee in a regional semifinal at Cameron Stadium.
Bangor (10-0) will host No. 3 Brunswick (9-1) in the regional championship game on Friday. No. 4 Messalonskee ended its best season in Class A at 6-4.
"I thought the kids played very hard. We played very well," Messalonskee Coach Wes Littlefield said. "You just can't give good teams opportunities."
In the final minute of the first quarter, Bangor's Joe Seccareccia intercepted a Dylan Foster pass and returned it 35 yards to the Messalonskee 38. Three plays later, Hackett ran 20 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 Bangor lead with 11:15 left in the half.
"(Foster) got hit, I think, when he was throwing it, so I stepped up and picked it off," Seccareccia said.
Messalonskee cut the Rams' lead to a point with 8:12 left in the third quarter when Foster hit Sam Dexter for a 75-yard touchdown pass. The teams traded punts, but with 4:11 left in the third quarter, Seccareccia returned a punt 52 yards for a touchdown and a 13-6 lead.
Bangor's next drive was just one play, a 67-yard pass from Seccareccia to John Kelley. Kelley, the tight end, was wide open over the middle and ran untouched for the score, giving Bangor a 19-6 lead with 36 seconds left in the third quarter.
Foster's 36-yard TD pass to Dexter made it 19-13 with 9:44 to play.
Bangor then took over on its own 43 after the kickoff and handed the ball to Hackett 12 straight times. Hackett, who finished with 129 yards on 30 carries, finally scored on a 4-yard run with 3:44 remaining.
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