AUBURN

Brunswick High School’s Jared Jensen has set the Maine high school football world on fire so far this season, and his 332 yards on 31 carries Friday night against Edward Little gave the Dragons running back nearly 1,300 yards in just four games.

But, in Brunswick’s 33-20 Pine Tree Conference victory over the Red Eddies, it was Jared Jensen, defensive back that saved the Dragons.

Jensen intercepted EL quarterback Sean Ford three times, including two in the fourth quarter that sealed Brunswick’s fourth victory in as many games and kept the Red Eddies winless, with Messalonskee set to visit Walton Field next Friday.

“The three picks were huge, but offensively it was a great night for the offensive line and a great night for me,” said Jensen, who scored four touchdowns. “Coach switched the defense to a four-deep and we pretty much shut down their offense after that.”

Tied 14-14 at the half, Jensen scored on a 12-yard TD run to open the second half for a 21-14 Brunswick lead. Jensen had a rare miscue in the fourth quarter, fumbling the ball into the end zone, but offensive lineman Brett Lancaster recovered to give the Dragons a 27-14 edge.

Jensen returned his first fourth-quarter pick 61 yards to the EL-31. After a penalty moved the ball the EL-26, Jensen found a gap and scored on a 26-yard run for a 33-14 lead.

Jensen’s final pick ended EL’s next drive.

“We’re very poised, and we are going to play four quarters of football,” said Brunswick coach Dan Cooper, whose squad hosts Cony next Friday. “We’re fortunate that we played well and fought hard to get a big victory.”

Early on, it was the Red Eddies who were the aggressor. After receiving the opening kick-off, EL marched right down the field, converting three third-down plays into first downs. Ford found Quinn Leary for a 10-yard TD strike and a 7-0 lead.

Jensen’s first run went for a two-yard loss, and Brunswick punted after a three-and-out.

EL kept rolling offensively, driving 49 yards on 10 plays, with Leary scoring his second touchdown on an 8-yard strike from Ford. The key play of the drive was a 42- yard Ford-to-Leary pass play on third-down and 18. Cameron Cormier’s second extra-point kick gave the Red Eddies a 14-0 lead.

“We knew we wanted to open the offense and throw the ball a little bit more into open space,” said EL coach Dave Sterling after his squad possessed the ball for over nine minutes in the opening quarter. “We were very motivated and gave ourselves a chance to win. I think the second half of the Bangor game, when we trailed 24-0 before we came back to make it a game, showed that we can come together, and this game we came out firing. I am very happy with the effort these guys are putting in.”

Brunswick began its second drive at the EL-44, and Jensen went to work. He ran three times, his last a 5-yard TD run to get the Dragons to 14-6 after a quarter.

Jensen intercepted a Ford pass from his knees early in the second quarter, but the Eddies held on downs to get the ball back.

But, Brunswick’s defense adjusted to the throwing of Ford, and managed to tie the game by halftime as Jensen broke loose for a 32-yard TD run. Quarterback Jason Carter ran in the 2-point conversion.

Jensen’s third TD run four minutes into the third quarter put the Dragons ahead, and the visitors began pounding the ball at the tiring Red Eddies defense behind Brunswick’s big offensive line, led by Josh Thibeault, Nick Dobson and Lancaster.

“We came out a little bit shaky, but faced adversity and came up big in the second half,” said Jensen.“We tend to be a little bit rusty at the start, and any other team might have lost this game, but we kept our poise and kept it going.”

“We went to a four-man front and we got more kids into the secondary and it really worked well,” said Cooper. “They executed offensively and we couldn’t stop them early. They were making the tough catches and playing hard. The credit is to Edward Little.

“I thought our secondary play in the second half was fantastic, and they had to work hard to get some first downs.”

“We just went up against probably the best running back that I have in this state in a long time. We bottled him up at times, but when he breaks free, he is a very good running back,” said Sterling of Jensen.

Brunswick finished with 409 yards on the ground and 17 first downs. The Dragons defense was led by Jacob Duffy’s five solo tackles, while Cody Buchheit had two key sacks, including one for a 15- yard loss to stop an EL drive.

Red Eddies linebacker Andrew St. Pierre had 11 tackles, while Cormier made seven stops and intercepted a Carter pass. Gage St. Hilaire recovered a Brunswick fumble.

Brunswick 33,
Edward Little 20

At Walton Field
Brunswick — 68712—33
EdwardLittle—1400 6—20
First quarter
EL — Leary 10-pass from Ford (Cormier
kick), 8:26.
EL — Leary 8-pass from Ford (Cormier
kick), 1:00.
B — Jensen 5-run (kick failed), :26.3.
Second quarter
B — Jensen 32 run (Carter run), 3:33.
Third quarter
B — Jensen 12 run (Carter kick), 7:55.
Fourth quarter
B — Lancaster recovered fumble in end
zone (kick blocked), 7:48.
B — Jensen 26-run (run failed), 5:35.
EL — Leary 2-pass from Ford (run
failed), :10.6.
Records — Brunswick 4-0, Edward Little 0-4.
Next for the Dragons — This upcoming
Friday at home against Cony, 7 p.m.

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