BANGOR - Northern Lehigh had to come back twice to tie the game Friday night at Bangor Memorial Park. But the Bulldogs couldn’t do it a third and final time as they fell to the Slaters 28-21.

Bangor took the lead for the third and final time with just over a minute left in the game.

The Bulldogs’ Mike Repsher responded with a 67-yard kickoff return. The return and a Bangor penalty set Northern Lehigh up at the Slater 12-yard line with 48 seconds left in the game.

The Bangor defense, which allowed just 174 total yards in the game, and only 13 yards passing, was up to the challenge. An incomplete pass, a 3-yard gain and two sacks ended the contest and knocked the Bulldogs (2-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten.

“Our coordinator, Richie (Smith) put it on the kids,” said Bangor head coach Paul Reduzzi. “He told them this is your offseason. All the work you put in comes down to these 12 yards. And the kids responded. They were disciplined down there and very physical.”

The Bulldogs, which fell behind by two touchdowns in the first 14 minutes of the game, couldn’t make one last comeback.

The Slaters opened the scoring when they capitalized on a Northern Lehigh miscue. Three plays after Bangor’s Gavin Sandt recovered a fumble, quarterback Joe Genteel connected with Nick Davanzo for a 37-yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead with 2:06 left tin the first quarter.

It was Davanzo’s first catch of the game, but not his last. He torched the Bulldogs for 157 yards on seven catches.

After a Northern Lehigh three-and-out, Genteel and Davanzo hooked up again, this time for 52 yards and a 14-0 lead less than two minutes into the second quarter.

“Bangor came to play tonight and we didn’t,” said Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout. “The two touchdowns right away were a big part of it. I thought we woke up in the second quarter, then we came out in the third and had the turnover.”

The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard after a Bryce Dye punt pinned the Slaters at their own 3-yard line. Zach Moyer picked off a pass and ran 15 yards to the end zone to get his team on the board.

Northern Lehigh got the ball back just over two minutes later and went 33 yards in eight plays, capped by a 4-yard run from Moyer to tie the game at 14-14 with 27 seconds left in the first half.

The Slaters went back to work in the second half, picking off a Moyer pass on the second play then using two plays to go 26 yards for a touchdown. Genteel took it in from two yards out.

The Bulldogs put together a 7-play drive capped by Moyer’s touchdown pass to Chase Misera to make it 21-21 with 7:11 left in the third quarter.

After trading possessions five times, Bangor started the game-winning touchdown drive with 5:02 left in the game and went 49 yards in nine plays. Kael Godshalk ran in the touchdown from five yards out.

NO FLY ZONE

... Bangor’s defense allowed the Bulldogs little time to pass and few targets downfield, holding Moyer to three completions on 10 attempts for a mere 13 yards.

NO FLAG ZONE, ALMOST

... Northern Lehigh was not called for a penalty in the game, while Bangor had assesses just two. Neither team was flagged in the first half.

NEXT WEEK

... Northern Lehigh heads back up to the Slate Belt next week for a Saturday game at Pen Argyl. The Slaters will take on Southern Lehigh.