AUBURN — In retrospect, it was probably silly for anybody to think that the Bangor High School football team would lose two straight games.

Foolhardy, also, not to recognize that if the Rams’ top rusher went down with multiple injuries, they probably had one, or two, or six guys to replace him.

Neither Wyatt Frost nor Cote Chapman is considered the primary threat on Bangor’s depth chart. That didn’t stop both of them from rushing for three touchdowns Friday night and bolstering Bangor to a methodical, authoritative, downright easy 51-6 Eastern Class A victory over Edward Little at Walton Field.

“I hope we sent a statement to the whole state of Maine that we’re here to play,” said Chapman, a junior fullback. “It felt great to do this tonight.”

Chapman churned out scores of 5, 2 and 45 yards. Frost found the end zone from 29, 12 and 26 on his way to a game high 24 carries and 179 yards.

Frost, a senior, spelled junior Zeb Tuell, who has been nicked with head and ankle injuries.

“I was definitely game ready, and coach told me right before kickoff I was going to get the starting job,” Frost said. “I had to step it up and fill those shoes.”

Bangor (2-1) scored on six of its first eight possessions and returned to its customary place near the front of the Pine Tree Conference playoff race.

The Rams lost at home to Lawrence a week ago after narrowly surviving an opening-night trip to Brunswick, winning by one.

To some, they looked vulnerable. But don’t tell that to Edward Little (1-2).

“They just beat us. We did not execute some things like we wanted, but they beat us,” Eddies coach Dave Sterling said. “There’s no other way to explain it. I take full blame for it.”

EL’s first-half forays ended in four punts — one of which traveled only two yards — and an interception.

Bangor, meanwhile, started the game with a 12-play, 73-yard, nearly six-minute march, showing no ill effects from Tuell’s absence.

The lead leaped from 7-0 after one quarter to 25-0 at the half and 39-0 through three.

During a lengthy post-game huddle in which the Bangor coaching staff doled out five game balls, coach Mark Hackett dropped one in Frost’s hands before shouting, “Zeb Who?”

He smirked and slapped the injured player on the knee, just to make sure everyone knew he was kidding.

“It takes a tough kid to come and say they aren’t feeling right,” Hackett told his team. “He volunteered to go, but I just decided not to play him.”

Frost, Chapman (eight carries, 67 yards), Logan Lanham (1-yard TD) and Alex Welch (8-yard TD) were the lucky guys who had the chance to work behind the front five of Elijah Hughes, Brendan Moore, Aaron Huntington, Greg Duff, Brandon Vang and tight end Ellis Throckmorton.

Bangor rolled up 335 rushing yards to EL’s 93.

“We prepared ourselves like it was a playoff game. We tried to come out and set the tone and make a physical presence,” Frost said. “A lot of people talk about our inexperience, but now I think it’s finally coming together.”

Bright spots defensively for EL included a sack and forced fumble by Anfrenee Bradley and numerous tackles by Luke Farrago and Dylan Deconzo.

Two second-half turnovers compounded the issues for the EL offense.

The Eddies didn’t get on the board until backup quarterback Sean Ford located starting quarterback Josh Delong, moved to flanker, for a 33-yard TD with 10:13 left.

“We did some different things once we got to halftime, but we just couldn’t come back after that. We didn’t move the ball as well as we could have,” Sterling said. “It’s the type of game we have to forget about and move on. Just like in a game when you have a bad play, you have to get on to the next one.”

Ford and Delong were a combined 10-for-17 for 153 yards through the air. Quin Leary had four catches.

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