Last week Northwestern was the team pulling off the upset. This week the Tigers were on the other side.

Bangor scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns to come back from a 19-point halftime deficit and beat Northwestern 36-28 at Bangor Memorial Park.

“This team hasn’t figured out how to finish teams off when they have them on the ropes,” said Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder. “All of our losses we’ve been up by two scores in the second half and just can’t find a way to finish things. It’s a learning process but unfortunately we’re seven games into it by now.”

The Tigers were ahead 28-15 after a 61-yard Trevor Cunningham touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter.

But the Slaters (2-5) scored three straight fourth-quarter TDs, keeping the ball on the ground for every play of the three drives.

Jesse Rocco scored on a 9-yard run with 9:42 left in the game to get his team within 28-22.

A Northwestern fumble in the red zone led to an 8-play Bangor touchdown drive, capped by a 17-yard Saivaughn Vass touchdown that put the Slaters in front 29-28 with 4:08 left.

After forcing a three-and-out, Bangor got the ball back and Vass broke free for his third touchdown of the game, going 30 yards to paydirt to seal the win.

After spinning its wheels in the first half, with just four first downs, 92 rushing yards no scores, the Slater offense got going in the second half.

Bangor ran the ball 32 times in the second half and threw just once. Vass had 177 yards in the second half and 254 yards in the game, while Rocco chipped in with 83 yards.

“We simplified some things offensively and with that they were running with a little more confidence. That’s all we needed,” said Bangor head coach Tom Toth. “But really it was the resilience of this team. They’ve had to overcome a lot of adversity this year and I give them credit for coming out and playing the second half.”

Bangor also took care of the ball while the Tigers committed four turnovers (two fumbles, two interceptions).

The Tigers (4-3) opened this game just like last week’s upset win over Saucon Valley - with a touchdown on the opening kick off. This time it was Tyler Foster taking it all the way, going 94 yards to put his team ahead early.

Bangor got on the board when punter John Raub pinned the Tigers at their own one-yard line and Seth Diorio tackled Foster in the end zone for a safety.

Northwestern bounced back with a touchdown drive as quarterback Deven Bollinger found Cunningham for a 40-yard score and a 9-0 lead late in the first quarter.

The Tigers went ahead 21-2 with 4:43 left in the first half when Foster plunged in from a yard out.

But Bangor came out of the locker room after their homecoming festivities and looked like a different team. The took the second half kick off and marched 65 yards on nine plays to cut right into the lead, 21-8 with 6:56 left in the quarter.

A Northwestern fumble gave the Slaters a short field on their next drive. It took them two plays to go 20 yards as Rocco busted through the line for a 10-yard run to get his team within 21-15.

“There were just a ton of missed tackles,” said Snyder. “Assignments, alignment, that all goes out the window when you fail to bring the guy to the ground.”

The Slaters converted on three of four third downs in the second half, and seven of 12 for the game. The Bangor defense held strong on third down as the Tigers converted just one of six attempts.

Foster led the Tigers in rushing with 11 carries for 54 yards. Bollinger threw for 256 yards with Cunningham hauling in seven passes for 153 yards. Caleb Clymer pulled in five passes for 59 yards.

Bollinger moves ahead of Frank Dangello on the Northwestern single season passing yards record with 1,382 this season. Cunningham moved ahead of Cam Richardson for most receiving yards in a season with 796.

The loss likely knocks the Tigers out of contention in a District 11 Class 4A that includes Bethlehem Catholic (5-1), Central Catholic (6-1), Pottsville (5-1), Saucon Valley (5-1) and Blue Mountain (5-2). Just four of those teams will make the bracket.