BRUNSWICK — They were fourth-graders back in 2007, when Brunswick won its first Class A boys’ lacrosse state title.
“I was actually on the (sideline) for the second half so I was pretty pumped up about that,” said Cameron Glover, now a senior and the eldest son of Coach Don Glover. “It was awesome growing up, watching those guys.”
Turns out that was the only state title for the Dragons, runners-up to Scarborough and Portland the following two seasons, and to South Portland last year.
On Saturday morning at Fitzpatrick Stadium, Eastern Maine champ Brunswick (15-0) and Western champ South Portland (13-1) will meet again for the Class A title. Suiting up in orange and black will be 16 Brunswick seniors, several of whom have been paying homage to the school’s most memorable season with ’07 written in black ink on white athletic tape affixed to their helmets.
“We put that on in preseason,” Cam Glover said. “We all got together and decided we want a goal. We didn’t want to put FAMILY or something typical like that. We wanted to have a goal. That ’07 team is the last (Brunswick) team to get undefeated and that’s what we want to do, as a group of 16 seniors.”
In most sports, the normal shape of a high school class is an inverted pyramid. Plenty of enthusiastic freshmen may start off playing, but numbers often dwindle in succeeding years for a variety of reasons. Not so in Brunswick, where youngsters begin as early as the third grade, and often stay with the program through high school and beyond.
Assistant coaches Ben Herman and Demetri Rosette, for example, played on that unbeaten ’07 team.
“Coach Glover does a great job with the youth program,” said senior Matt Brooks, who had six assists in Brunswick’s 21-4 victory over Messalonskee in the Eastern Maine final Wednesday night. “All the way from third grade up, he keeps people interested. And once you get to high school, you know that it’s a special thing to be a part of because it’s such a tradition of Brunswick lacrosse. We all love coming to practice every day.”
“From the jump, we’ve been really close,” said senior goalkeeper Mitchell Smith, who starting playing in fifth grade. “We’ve been a family.”
Glover said interest in the program has risen steadily through the years. He encourages interaction between age groups and has his high school players run Monday night youth practices. At every level, he emphasizes fun.
“As a teenaged boy running around with a stick, our style is to play fast,” Glover said. “It’s not boring. We play a transition game as opposed to slowing things down.”
The Dragons average better than 17 goals per game this season. The only time they’ve been held to a dozen was in a 12-3 victory over Lewiston.
Their toughest test came against two-time defending Class B state champion Cape Elizabeth in a Saturday morning game in mid-May on the turf of Bowdoin College. Trailing by three in the third quarter, Brunswick rallied to go ahead and eventually won 15-14 in overtime to end the Capers’ 25-game winning streak.
“That was huge for us,” said senior midfielder Tyler Hillis. “That was a big confidence builder.”
Another factor in Brunswick’s success this season is the faceoff work of senior Ian Schlosser, who fulfills the same role Rosette played on that ’07 championship team. Schlosser credits Rosette for working with him, “taking faceoffs with me himself and just tweaking my game, and trying to make me better,” Schlosser said.
Rosette parlayed his faceoff skill into a collegiate career at Frostburg (Maryland) State and now, at age 27, plays for the Philippines national team.
“I showed him a little bit and he took off to the races,” Rosette said of Schlosser, who wins better than 80 percent of draws and took 12 straight Wednesday against Messalonskee. “That’s what he focuses on. He takes pride in that.”
Saturday’s opponent, South Portland, has nine seniors of its own. The Red Riots can harken back to their 10-8 victory in last year’s championship game.
“We just ran out of time,” Cameron Glover said of that contest. “We were down and then we started pulling things together but we just ran out of time. We’re real excited to get another crack at those guys. They’re a great team, a bunch of great guys. We respect them. They respect us. It should be an awesome game.”
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