BANGOR – There were chances galore for Jim Thorpe’s football team on Thursday.

There was the first series on offense, when a Thorpe receiver was wide open streaking down the middle of the field. But, a strong Bangor pass rush denied quarterback Brett Balliet the time to complete what surely would have been six points.

Or on Jim Thorpe’s second possession, when the offensive line was garnering a head of steam from a drive that began on its own 27. First, Balliet hit Benjamin Goldberg out of the backfield for a 21-yard completion. Then the holes started to open for David Fiorito, who took off on a 30-yard jaunt. Just like that, Thorpe was knocking on the door. Swift junior running back Salvatore Capria appeared end zone-bound, but just as he seemed to cross the goal line, the ball was jarred loose and Bangor recovered in the end zone.

It was that type of evening for the Olympians at Bangor Athletic Park, where the host Slaters slowly stuck the dagger into the Olympians using a three-touchdown explosion in the second half to chisel out a 29-7 victory.

“We just blew too many opportunities,” said veteran Jim Thorpe coach Mark Rosenberger. “We keep giving opportunities away – that’s twice in two games.”

The loss drops Thorpe to 0-2, while Bangor improves to 2-0.

It has been a tough start to the 2022 campaign for Jim Thorpe, but all is not forsaken - something Rosenberger stressed after the game.

“It’s a long season,” he said. “We need to get back on track; we need to eliminate the mistakes, and we’ll be alright.”

Where the Slaters excelled was sustaining drives at key times. Their first touchdown drive took 10 plays and chewed up 80 yards on the back of Ashton Kluska, who capped it with the first of his three touchdowns - a 23-yard run down the sideline where he slipped tackle-after-tackle along the way for the only touchdown of the first half.

“We’re not making plays right now,” Rosenberger said.

The Slaters got superb field position to open the second half, running the kickoff back to the Thorpe 25, but were stymied mainly due to the standout play of junior defensive lineman Noah Roshac, who was steady all evening long.

As a result, Bangor had to settle for a 26-yard field goal from Landon Smith to go up 10-0.

On their next possession, the Slaters used a 3-yard run by Kluska with 5:14 remaining in the third quarter to take a 17-0 lead.

The Olympians finally cracked the end zone to cut into the deficit 17-7, thanks to sensational receiver Justin Yescavage, who caught a 42-yard pass from Balliet. Yescavage had a banner night with 10 catches for 144 yards.

However, there was nary another threat from Thorpe after that. Bangor, on the other hand, tacked on two more touchdowns to salt the contest away. Again, Kluska was the thorn in the Olympians’ side as he dashed 31 yards to paydirt to make it 23-7, before quarterback Eric Striba tacked on the final six-pointer on a 34-yard dash to the end zone.

LADY SINGS THE BLUES

… The two early first-quarter plays that could have produced scores were the demise of Thorpe. A twist of fate, and the Olympians could have had an early lead.

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE

… Bangor never backed down, and kept plugging away until it was able to convert on offense. Kluska was a tough cookie running the ball, as he finished just shy of 100 yards. Kudos also to his teammate, Striba, who took some early hits, but remained poised.