BRUNSWICK

Throughout the past week, Brunswick football coach Dan Cooper and his staff preached Gardiner. There was no talk of this upcoming Friday’s showdown with rival Cony, the team that knocked the Dragons out of the Eastern B playoffs last year in the regional final, 48-38.

Cooper was proud of his team for their listening skills, as the Dragons jumped out to a 21-0 firstquarter lead and cruised to a 41-6 victory over the Tigers on Friday in front of fired up home crowd.

Now, Brunswick (2-0) can talk Cony (1-1 after a 46-40 upset loss to Brewer on Friday), with the game slated to take place at Augusta at 7 p.m.

“Cony has turned into our rival game, and we would play them eight times a year if we could,” said Cooper. “We are excited to play them. Last year was last year. They had a good team and we had a good team. We believe that we have a good bunch of kids.”

Running on the backs of what the Dragons call “Thunder” in powerful fullback Alex Bandouveres, and “Lightning” in quick tailback Will Bessey, Brunswick took control early against Gardiner, putting up 184 yards of total offense in the first quarter.

“These two games are a big confident booster for us, getting us set for the rest of the season,” said Bessey, who carried the ball a team-high 11 times for 57 yards against Gardiner. “All the teams are keying on Bando. Gardiner played some good defense. But, we were able to get the holes and hit them hard.”

“We have all hopped on board, have stayed healthy, had great practices all week and our linemen did really well opening up big holes,” said Bandouveres, who rumbled his way for 99 yards and three touchdowns in the first half on just nine carries.

Quick lead

It didn’t take the Dragons long to get their running game in gear. After a solid return on the opening kick-off by Jesse Devereaux, Brunswick ran six times, with Bandouveres plowing over a Tigers tackler on his way to a 12-yard touchdown run and a 6-0 lead.

Gardiner (0-2) picked up one first down, a 14-yard sweep by Treavon Horton, but the Brunswick defense held and forced a punt. The Dragons went back to work, moving quickly down the field, scoring this time on a 17-yard TD pass from quarterback Tom Hanson (3-for-6, 49 yards) to Corban Teel. Hanson followed by hooking up with Alan Molnar for the 2-point conversion and a 14-0 edge with 2:30 left in the first frame.

Brunswick held the Tigers to force another punt, this time resulting in a 51-yard, five-play drive, with the key play a 19-yard run by Bandouveres, who finished off the drive on the final play of the first quarter with a 12-yard TD run. Alex Larson tacked on the extra-point kick for a 21-0 Brunswick lead.

“It doesn’t matter who the opponent is, we just want to be playing four quarters of good football,” said Cooper. “We feel if we play our style of football, knowing there will be some ups and downs, the scoreboard will reflect how we are playing.”

After outgaining Gardiner 184-14 in the first 12 minutes, the second quarter turned into a yellow flagfest. Brunswick was whistled for 11 infractions for 70 yards in the first half, with Gardiner moving backwards seven times for 50 yards.

Brunswick upped its lead to 27-0 on a third TD run by Bandouveres, this one from 1-yard out.

The Dragons rushed for 194 yards in the first half, while the defense held Gardiner to just 43 total yards.

“Our offensive line is really playing well, and they are just opening up the holes and working hard,” said Cooper, who praised the work up front of Andrew Cilea, Devin Hewson, Tristan Graves, Josh Goddard and Nick Osbourne.

The defense set up Brunswick’s next score. Three Gardiner plays to open the second half resulted in no gain, forcing the Tigers to punt. Bessey grabbed the ball on a bounce, cut right and ran 46-yards untouched for a touchdown, with Devereaux adding a 2-point conversion run for a 35-0 lead.

From there, the Brunswick jayvees took over, as Cooper rested his starters.

“You have to stay healthy, and it is good to play well in these first two games, get a lead and be able to get the jayvee in the third and fourth quarter,” said Cooper, whose Dragons opened the season with a 51-8 win over Brewer. “It keeps you healthy. It is important, especially considering the tough schedule we have from here.”

Gardiner got on the board on the first play of the fourth quarter, with Tyler Caron (16 rushes, 81 yards) scoring on a 22-yard run.

But, Brunswick answered two plays later, with running back Hunter Garrett following up his 14- yard run with a 66-yard sprint to the end zone to complete the scoring.

Cam Berry chipped in 40 yards on the ground for Brunswick, which rushed for 275 yards and outgained Gardiner 324-179. Bandouveres, Graves, Patrick Green, Nelson Gay and Aaron Gary led the Dragons defense with three tackles each. Josh Mays forced a fumble.

Gardiner’s defense was paced by five tackles apiece from Jake Truman and Andrew Doody-Vellieux.

Brunswick 41,
Gardiner 6

At Brunswick
Gardiner— 0006— 6
Brunswick—21686—41
First quarter
B — Alex Bandouveres 12 run (run failed),
9:31.
B — Corban Teel 17 pass from Tom Hanson
(Hanson pass to Alan Molnar), 2:30.
B — Alex Bandouveres 12 run (Alex Larson
kick), :00.
Second quarter
B — Alex Bandouveres 1 run (kick blocked),
2:30.
Third quarter
B — Will Bessey 46 punt return (Jesse Devereaux run), 10:24.
Four quarter
G — Tyler Caron 22 run (pass failed), 11:51.
B — Hunter Garrett 66 run (run failed), 11:01.
Records — Brunswick 2-0, Gardiner 0-2.
Up next for the Dragons — This upcoming Friday at Cony, 7 p.m.