BRUNSWICK

While the Maine high school soccer season heads into preliminary-round action this weekend, football is still entrenched in the regular season with several squads jockeying for the postseason. Oh yeah, field hockey and cross country are hitting high gear as well.

Lawrence at Brunswick

And, in terms of importance, there’s not too many bigger games than Lawrence/Brunswick football this Friday (7 p.m.) in Brunswick.

These two adversaries have built up quite a rivalry over the last few seasons.

In 2007 and 2008, Brunswick lost in the regular season to Lawrence by a combined score of 85-0. But, the Dragons came back in 2009 to post a 27-14 Eastern Maine semifinal win and nipped then topranked Lawrence 14-13 in a 2010 quarterfinal title. Last year, Brunswick lost in Fairfield 10-7.

Yes, this is a big game this week,” said Brunswick coach Dan Cooper. “It’s an opportunity for us to beat the best team in our conference and earn the number-one seed for the playoffs. If you would have asked me if this was possible before the season, I would have admitted that an opportunity like this probably wouldn’t be realistic. With only three returning offensive and defensive starters from a year ago, things certainly could have gone another direction.

“With only nine seniors returning we knew we were going to be young all over, and in this conference playing underclassman costs you ballgames,” Cooper continued. “But our kids have rallied and raised their game. They have worked tremendously hard and have ‘bought in’ to everything that we have done, and our six wins this season are a reflection of that. They realize that with a little grit, hard work and duct tape, anything can be accomplished. Win or lose we’ll battle hard and walk of the field with no regrets, full of Brunswick football pride.”

Cooper knows all too well the talent that Lawrence possesses.

“Lawrence is an awesome football team,” said the coach. “Big, athletic and more talented in every area. And, they have plenty of depth. We did exhibition them and competed admirably, losing 16-0. First downs were hard to come by, as were defensive stops. We will certainly have our hands full.

“For us to compete the formula is always the same. Execute, block well, and tackle well. If we can do that and not have penalties that stop our drives or extend theirs — paired with not turning the ball over — we can give ourselves a chance.”

The Dragons have been focused all week.

“It shouldn’t be hard at all to fire up the troops for this game,” admitted Cooper. “They know the opportunity that they have. This may be our only shot at them this year, and the kids realize the advantages of having a game in Brunswick during the playoffs. Win or lose I’m just thrilled my players have an opportunity like this and have full confidence that they’ll give their best and do some things well Friday night. And, God willing, we’ll play well enough to compete for fourth quarters at a high level.”

The Bulldogs, under head coach John Hersom, are 7-0 and coming off a 27-6 dismantling of 5-2 Cony.

In that game, the Bulldogs intercepted top passer Ben Lucas five times and held the Rams to just 12 yards rushing. On offense, Anthony Sementelli rushed for 110 yards.

Sementelli leads the Bulldogs’ ground attack with 868 yards on 131 carries, while Josh Doolan has nearly 600 yards.

Defensively, Luke Lawrence, Eriq Stewart and Spencer Carey are leading tacklers.

Earlier, Brunswick (6-1) lost at home to Cony 34-7 in a game in which the Dragons failed to record an offensive touchdown. Since then Brunswick nipped a very good Messalonskee team 13-12 and got past Oxford Hills 41-14 last Friday night.

When one talks about Brunswick, first up in the conversation is running back Jared Jensen, who leads the league with 1,741 yards and 19 touchdowns. Jensen has been nursing a leg injury suffered in the Cony game three weeks ago.

Top tacklers have been Jacob Duffy, Lukas McCue, Jensen (five interceptions) and Nick Dodson.

Lisbon-Winslow

Another tough game in the Mid-coast region will be 4-3 Lisbon hosting 6-1 Winslow in both teams’ regular-season finale.

Winslow lost in its second game of the season 32-21 to Dirigo when the Raiders trailed 18-10, went up 21-18, and eventually lost. In that game, the Cougars turned two Winslow turnovers into TDs.

Winslow, third ranked in Western C with a 6-1 record and 130.36 Crabtree points, has scored 233 points and allowed 121. Dirigo (6-1, 139.29) and Oak Hill (6-1, 132.14) are 1-2.

Lisbon currently sits in the sixth spot with a 4-3 record and 112.50 points, just ahead of Old Orchard Beach (5-2, 108.93) and Freeport (4-3, 94.64).

“We’ve seen Winslow play and they’re big and fast,” said Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan. “They’re a very good team, some people think they have the best team in the conference. The game that they lost they had like 16 kids out, but I guess they’re back now.”

Lisbon’s forte is the running game, led by Quincy Thompson with 835 yards on 81 carries. “But, all of our backs have good averages,” said Mynahan, who can look to Kyle Sheehan (7 yards per carry), Mason Haley (7 ypc) and Jordan Torres (8 ypc), “We spread the ball around a lot,” said Mynahan. “When they do get called they usually make the most of their opportunities.”

Defensively, middle linebacker Sheehan “covers a lot of ground for us,” said Mynahan, who also praised the efforts turned in by tackle Casey Garrison (out part of the season with a concussion), Joe Philbrick and defensive ends Dale Crafts and Jordan Glover.

Freeport (4-3) hosts 1-6 Yarmouth on Saturday. In other action, Morse (2-5) tries to stop a two-game slide and visits 2-5 Oceanside (Thomaston/ Rockland) tonight and Mt. Ararat (0-7, 55 points scored, 323 allowed) hosts 3-4 Skowhegan tonight before wrapping the season at rival Brunswick on Oct. 26.

Soccer prelims, etc.

The last countable game for soccer was Tuesday, with a couple of games slated for Wednesday.

In Eastern Maine Class A boys, Mt. Ararat (12-1-1, 148.9796 Tournament Index) is No. 1 over No 2. Lewiston (11-1-2, 132.656,1) and will await on the prelims, while Brunswick (No. 4, 8-4-2, 110.4021) will host Bangor (No. 5, 8-2-4, 95.9184) in a Wednesday quarterfinal tilt (3 p.m.).

In Western B, Freeport’s surprising 1-0 win over Gray-New Gloucester bounced Morse (4- 10) out of the tournament and into the 12th spot.

Freeport (3-9-2) improved to 10th and is scheduled to visit No. 7 Spruce Mountain (7-5-2) Saturday (11 a.m.) in prelim play.

In Western C Lisbon (5-8-1) grabbed the eighth seed in Western Maine Class D and plays host to No. 9 Monmouth (4-7-3) today (2:30 p.m.), while Wiscasset is seeded seventh (7-6-1) and is set to travel to No. 2 St. Dom’s (13-0-1) in a quarterfinal matchup.

The Richmond boys (14-0) locked up the top spot in Western D and will play the Vinalhaven/Greenville winner in a semifinal game next Friday.

In Eastern A girls, Brunswick (14-0), despite a regular season win over Bangor (13-1), lost out on the top spot to the Rams (181.0204- 178.9796) and will compete in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, while Mt. Ararat settled in at eighth (9-5) will host No. 9 Edward Little (7-7) in a 3:30 p.m. prelim on today. “We’re going to try and get it in before the rain,” said Mt. Ararat athletic director Todd Samson, who made the switch from the original Saturday slot.

In West B, Morse is once again the top seed with a 12-1- 1 record and 141.0714 TI, just ahead of defending state champion Falmouth (9-2-2, 123.5332 TI) and will await the prelims. Freeport is in eighth (6-7-1) and hosts No. 9 Spruce Mountain (6-7-1) today (3:30 p.m.) in a prelim.

In West C, Lisbon is No. 1 (12-1-1, 120.4082) ahead of No. 2 St. Dom’s (12-1-1, 119.8980 TI) and will also await the prelims.

Defending State Class D champion Richmond is the top seed in West D (13-0-1) and will play the quarterfinal winner of Buckfield/Vinalhaven next Friday.

In addition to a full slate of Bowdoin College sporting events Saturday, high school field hockey has hit the semifinal stage and cross country heads into Eastern and Western Regionals.

In Eastern Maine Class A field hockey, No. 4 Mt. Ararat (11-4) is at No. 1 Skowhegan (15- 0). The game will be played at 1 p.m. if held at Skowhegan and 2 p.m. if at Colby College, depending on the weather.

In Western Maine Class C field hockey, No. 4 Traip Academy (9-5-1) visits No. 1 Lisbon (14-0-1), 2 p.m.

The Eastern Maine Cross Country Regionals are at Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast with Class A boys at 11 a.m., Class A girls at 11:35 a.m., Class B boys at 12:10 p.m., Class B Girls at 12:45 p.m., Class C boys at 1:20 p.m., and Class C girls at 1:55 p.m.

The Western Maine Cross Country Regionals will be held at Twin Brook in Cumberland, with Class A boys at 10 a.m., Class A girls at 10:35 a.m., Class B boys at noon, Class B girls at 12:35 p.m., Class C boys at 2 p.m., and Class C girls at 2:35 p.m.