BRUNSWICK

High school football and soccer have reached the halfway point the regular season, with field hockey a little bit further along, cross country runners gearing up for conference meets Oct. 17 and 18, and golfers practicing hard for team and individual qualifying Tuesday.

Football

Brunswick and Lisbon have come out strong to begin the season, with the Dragons sitting at 4-0 and the Greyhounds 3-0.

Lisbon has put up 90 points in its wins, including a 42-7 rout of previously unbeaten Old Orchard Beach on the road last Friday. The Greyhounds have yet to play a “home” game on Thompson Field while the new track is under construction. However, the track is finished, and it is in pristine condition. So, Lisbon will host Traip Academy in a Western D showdown at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The Greyhounds have been solid offensively, even showcasing a dangerous passing attack behind quarterback Kyle Bourget, who has hooked up often with Tyler Halls and Noah Francis.

And, Lisbon’s defense has been stingy since opening the season with a hard-fought 28-24 over Winthrop/Monmouth. In their last two countable games (Lisbon played Sacopee Valley in an exhibition game in Week 2), the Greyhounds have permitted just seven points.

In the recent past, Brunswick has displayed a running attack that can both run over would-be tacklers then find a hole the next play and sprint away for a long touchdown.

Such is the case this season, with Alex Bandouveres and Will Bessey leading the charge out of the Dragons backfield. Bandouveres, better known as “Thunder,” has made tacklers pay for trying to step into a hole, often leaving them wondering what train just hit them. Bessey, “Lightning” to his Dragon teammates, has shown the ability to make a little bit of room into a long gain. Against Cony in a rematch of the Eastern B regional final last season, Bessey rushed for 245 yards in a 52-27 win.

In their four games, the Dragons have not only outscored their opponents, 128-62, but quarterback Tom Hanson has completed several big passes along the way, keeping defenders honest when trying to stack the line of scrimmage to stop the run.

Brunswick hosts Mt. Blue (2-2) Friday at 7 p.m. in what is sure to be a physical contest.

Elsewhere, Mt. Ararat (1-3) is in action tonight (7 p.m.) against undefeated York (4-0). With Yom Kippur being celebrated, three games dot the schedule tonight, giving fans three days of high school football.

The Eagles are coming off their first win, 34-22 over Gorham, but will need to do a lot of things right to stop the Wildcats in a rematch of last season’s Western B quarterfinal, won by York, 35-6.

Morse has shown the ability to win at home, as witnessed by its 2-0 mark on McMann Field, including Saturday’s 21-7 win over Fryeburg Academy.

The Shipbuilders have allowed just 13 points at home since spotting Oceanside a 14-0 lead in the opener (a 27-20 Morse win), and Morse looks to get to 3-2 at home Friday against winless Gorham (0- 4) on Military Appreciate Night.

And, Freeport, coming off a 50-0 setback against talented Wells, looks to get right over the next two weeks on the road. The Falcons visit injury-plagued Cape Elizabeth on Saturday (7 p.m.) and Lake Region on Oct. 10 (7 p.m.) before finishing the regular season with home contests against Mountain Valley (Oct. 18) and Yarmouth (Oct. 25).

Boys soccer

Both the Mt. Ararat and Brunswick boys had a chance to knock off Bangor over the past couple weeks on the road. The Eagles and Dragons left with 1-1 ties, with the Rams still unbeaten (6-0-2) and the No. 2 team in the Eastern Maine Class A Heal Point Standings. Mt. Ararat is currently third, while Brunswick stands in fourth.

Everyone in Eastern A is looking up at Lewiston, with the Blue Devils rolling over just about everyone and standing at 8-0, with a visit to Brunswick today (3:30 p.m.). The 5-2-1 Dragons, unbeaten in their last six games (5-0-1), can make a big statement with a win, plus Brunswick hits the road on Saturday to take on Hampden Academy, which defeated the Dragons in the season opener, 2-1.

Meanwhile, Rick Renaud’s Mt. Ararat Eagles are sitting at 5-1-2, its only loss a 4-1 setback at Lewiston Sept. 8. Since then, the Eagles have gone 4-0-2, with ties against the aforementioned Rams and Edward Little.

The schedule this week is a bit soft, with a home date with Skowhegan on Friday (6 p.m.) and a visit to Lawrence (11 a.m.) on Saturday. But, next week is a far different story. Mt. Ararat hosts Lewiston on Tuesday (6 p.m.) and visits Brewer Oct. 10 (3:30 p.m.) before finishing up with Hampden Academy (home, Oct. 17) and Brunswick (away, Oct. 21).

How about the Richmond Bobcats? In longtime Brunswick coach Peter Gardner’s first season at the helm, the Bobcats are 8-0 and atop the Western D standings. Richmond has outscored opponents, 40- 3, with Gardner preaching defense first. Sound familiar Brunswick fans?

Richmond has a busy slate in the coming weeks. Greenville comes to town on Tuesday (4 p.m.), and the Bobcats head to Pine Tree Academy in Freeport on Oct. 9 and Vinalhaven Oct. 10.

Dan Sylvester’s Lisbon team has been solid in the first eight games, posting a 6-2-1 mark, including a 0- 0 deadlock with St. Dom’s on Monday. The early season schedule certainly helped the Greyhounds, with bottom of the standings shutout wins over Oak Hill, Telstar, Winthrop, Dirigo and Wiscasset. Lisbon still has talented Hall- Dale on the docket (Oct. 7) and Mountain Valley (Oct. 14) before a rematch at St. Dom’s on Oct. 17.

Girls soccer

Morse may be the hottest team in Western B. The Shipbuilders have gone 3-0-1 in the past four games and have allowed just eight goals while posting a 5- 2-1 mark overall.

Alesha Aucoin has been solid in goal, and scorers Miracle Trimble and Brianna Williams have been finding the back of the net a lot lately. The Shipbuilders have scored 13 goals during their four-game unbeaten streak, including a 5-0 shutout of Medomak Valley on Tuesday.

A rematch of their seasonopening 3-2 loss to Lincoln Academy is scheduled for tonight at 7 p.m., with the Shipbuilder boys and girls both in action in their annual “Coaches vs. Cancer” event.

Brunswick and Mt. Ararat have mirrored each other this season. Both started slow, have been hampered by inconsistent play and are standing with 4-3-1 records as the push for the playoffs kicks into high gear.

The Dragons found their offense in wins over Skowhegan (9-0) and Cony (4-1) and visit Lewiston tonight at 6 p.m., while the Eagles, coming off a 3-1 win over Oxford Hills on Tuesday, looks to get on a winning streak, with a visit to winless Skowhegan on Friday and a home date with Lawrence on Saturday (11 a.m.). The Dragons and Eagles meet in the regularseason finale on Oct. 21 at Topsham (6 p.m.), a possible battle to determine who gets to stay home in the quarterfinals and who has to hit the road.

Troy Kendrick’s Richmond Bobcats have not missed a beat.

Coming off a State Class D championship game loss to Washburn last season, Kendrick’s chargers are 7-0 and have outscored their opponents, 53-2. So far, Richmond has little doubt about returning to another State Class D title game, but tough matchups await as Greenville comes to town on Tuesday (4 p.m.) and a visit to Buckfield concludes the regular season on Oct. 21.

And, Lisbon shook off a three-game winless stretch (0-1-2) by rolling to a 4-0 win over Winthrop on Tuesday. The Greyhounds are in sixth place in the Western C Heal Point Standings, with a tough slate of games coming up.

Lisbon hosts Hall-Dale on Monday, visits Madison Oct. 9, hosts Mountain Valley (Oct. 13) and concludes the regular-season slate at St. Dom’s on Oct. 16. Yikes! But, if the Greyhounds want to attain a good seed, a few wins in these key matchups will go a long way.

Field hockey

Julie Petrie knew that she had her work cut out for her coming into the season.

Over the past two years, graduation has taken a toll on the Greyhounds, who have persevered this year and stand at 9-1, the lone loss against the Western C Heal Point-leading Oak Hill Raiders (10-0).

Western C is stacked this year. Yarmouth is currently third with a perfect 9-0 mark, and always-dangerous North Yarmouth Academy is lurking in fourth at 7-2.

With the final two regular season games at home against Winthrop (Wednesday) and Oak Hill (Oct. 10), expect the Greyhounds to play those like playoff tilts.

Freeport started the regular season with losses to York and Kennebunk, but since then has gone 7-2 to stand at 7-4 and No. 5 in Western B. Everyone is looking up at York, which is unblemished at 9-0, but Marcia Woods’ Falcons are playing with confidence and have permitted just eight goals in the past nine contests.

Mark your calendars for the season finale, with Yarmouth visiting Freeport on Oct. 15.

Golf, cross country

The Festival of Champions is set to be held in Belfast (Troy Howard Middle School) on Saturday, with cross country runners coming from far and wide to test their mettle against the state’s best.

Brunswick, Morse and Lisbon will take part, with Mt. Ararat in the Mt. Blue Relays on Oct. 10.

The KVAC Championships will be held at Cony High School in Augusta on Oct. 18, with the Western Maine Conference Championships at St. Joseph’s College in Standish on Oct. 17. The Mountain Valley Conference Championships will be contested at the University of Maine- Augusta on Oct. 18.

And, golfers are set to compete in team and individual qualifiers on Tuesday at Natanis Golf Club in Vassalboro.

Mt. Ararat, fresh off a KVAC South championship match appearance this week, will look to continue a superb season, with top golfers Tyler O’Connor, Cam Cox, TJ Ackerman and Steven Schuman looking to be among the top five teams to qualify for the state team match, which will take place on Oct. 11 at Vassalboro. The top 15 individual golfers, both boys and girls, qualify for the individual champion on Oct. 18.

Mal Strange has a good mix of players that look to do well, while Leon Oliver’s Morse Shipbuilders showed improvement this season.

BOB CONN is The Times Record Sports Editor. He can be reached at