BRUNSWICK — After last Friday’s 44-29 Class B North semifinal win over Skowhegan, it was business as usual for

Brunswick.

With the victory, the Dragons earned a spot in the Class B North Regional Final for the sixth time in seven years — seventh under head coach Dan Cooper.

“It’s always a goal of ours, we wanted to win this game to keep playing,” Cooper said after the Skowhegan win. “This trip to the Class B Final is similar to the others in that they are all awesome and signifies that our kids have played very well.”

Brunswick (10-0), tops in Class B North, hosts No. 3 Lawrence (9-1) on Friday at 7 p.m. The Dragons defeated the Bulldogs on the road, 50-21, on Sept. 27.

“Our goal to start the season was to get here and have the opportunity to go back to states,” Cooper said.

In 2018, after finishing 5-3 during the regular season, the Dragons fought through the playoffs and beat Lawrence, 14-10, in Brunswick to reach the B State Final against Marshwood. The Hawks won, 49-0, for their fourth title in five years.

The winner of Friday’s game will play the South winner, a clash between No. 1 Marshwood (9-1) and No. 2 Kennebunk (8-2). Marshwood beat the Rams, 48-14, last month, and the Hawks’ only loss this season came to Thornton Academy, 28-27, Class A’s top team.

For Brunswick, the goal has always been about getting back to the state final. Cooper took over for longtime coach Dick Leavitt in the fall of 2005 and his first trip to the regional finals, then Class A East, came in 2009, where his squad fell to Bangor, 24-7.

The Maine Principal’s Association reclassified high school football teams in 2013, putting Brunswick in Class B and the Dragons reached the East Regional Final, dropping a 48-38 contest to Cony. In the years 2014-2016, the Dragons won three straight regional finals (East was replaced by North in 2016) to advance to the State Championship, winning it all in 2016 by defeating Kennebunk, 28-6, at the University of Maine at Orono. It was the first state championship for Brunswick football since 1963.

Brunswick lost in the semifinals the following year before returning to the state final again last year.

While Brunswick defeated Lawrence on the road earlier this season behind Mitch Lienert’s and Owen Richardson’s 172 and 134 rushing yards, respectively, and much like last week’s rematch with Skowhegan, the Dragons need to be a little more cautious this time around.

“Like last week, we told the kids that they are a much better team than the first game and capable of beating us if we do not play well. We realize turnovers and penalties are mistakes that make winning football games difficult and (we) will look to be much better on that front versus Lawrence,” Cooper said. “Lawrence has been playing well all season. We know we will have to play tough and execute to beat them.”

Senior quarterback Noah Goddard spoke similar words after Friday’s win.

“We may have taken Skowhegan a little lightly to start the game,” Goddard, who threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Treyvon McKenzie in the Lawrence September win, said. “We won’t be able to do that with (Lawrence). We need to put the previous game in the past and work hard for the next game.”

Lawrence, which has won six straight since losing to the Dragons, defeated No. 6 Falmouth/Greely, 34-8, and No. 7 Mt. Blue, 43-22, in the postseason to reach the final for the second straight season.

For Brunswick, a roster that has a good mixture of upper and underclassmen, reaching the regional final once again helps promote the youth program and excitement among the community, and that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Cooper.

“I do hope our success spurs some excitement down in the youth leagues and around town,” Cooper said. “The community does a great job of supporting us and we are thrilled to be back in this game.”

 

Copy the Story Link

Comments are not available on this story.

« Previous

Bowdoin NCAA Bound: Polar Bears earn at-large bid to volleyball tourney

Next »

Bowdoin winter sports set to begin