BANGOR - Northern Lehigh and Bangor both entered the third week of the Colonial League football season without a win, so at some point during their clash, one of the teams was going to have to learn to maintain an advantage.

After the Bulldogs stormed out to leads of 14-0 and 21-7, it was the Slaters that responded more intensely to battle back and eventually earn a 56-27 victory.Northern Lehigh posted two quick scores 1:41 into the contest, after a fumble recovery set up their second strike, and with just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter, Gage Hunsicker connected with Chase Ohlson for a 47-yard pass for the 21-7 swell.It was at that point that Bangor's confidence seemed to grow, as they rattled off seven straight scores."I don't think we handled being in the lead well, and I think we eased up at that point," Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout said. "We had the early momentum, but give (Bangor) credit because they came back."Facing the 21-7 deficit, Bangor put together an eight-play, 70-yard drive resulting in a Shemar Petrie 19-yard trot to cut into the 'Dawgs lead. A Northern Lehigh fumble yielded strong field position and the Slaters converted when Bo Meyers found David Langdon across the middle to knot it at 21-apiece."It feels great to get the win," Bangor head coach Tom Toth said. "We make things hard on ourselves at times, but I'm happy with the character the kids showed to get down two quick ones and respond the way they did. They never gave up and kept fighting and kept coming back."A stalled Bulldog drive gave way to a punt that Garrett DeBoer returned 55 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, providing the winners with a ton of momentum at that point."We're learning," Tout said. "Last week, our game was ugly with the turnovers, but I thought we fought the whole game. This week, I think we let down a little and I told them I don't care what the score is, I want to see the kids keep fighting and not give up."STRONG FRAME ... The Bulldogs responded well out of the intermission, trailing 35-21, and their defense remained solid, and had opportunities to make something happen. Despite not being able to get the offense going, the Bulldog faithful can be proud of their team's defense in that quarter.POINTS ON 'DEBOER-D' ... Bangor's junior tailback, DeBoer, impacted the game immensely, carrying the ball 20 times for 191 yards, while scoring thrice for the winners.MISCUES ME ... Both teams showed errors in the contest, as turnovers and penalties riddled the stat book. Northern Lehigh committed two interceptions and a fumble, while amassing six flags for 50 yards 'in the red.' Meanwhile, the winners had an intercaption and a fumble, but had 11 penalties for 95 yards against them.