BRUNSWICK — Unbeaten Brunswick overwhelmed Messalonskee with its balanced offense and hard-nosed defense to roll to a 35-7 win in a Pine Tree Conference football game Friday night.

The Dragons moved to 4-0 behind the running of Will Bessey, the passing of quarterback Thomas Hanson, and a defense that allowed just five first downs and fewer than 100 yards of total offense.

“We were just ready for this team,” said Bessey, who rushed for 202 yards on 24 carries and scored three touchdowns. “They beat us two times in the past two years, and we were amped up for this game and ready to go.”

Despite Bessey’s gaudy statistics, the Eagles (2-2) contained him in the first half.

“I think they were ready for me,” Bessey said, “but we got (the ball) to some other guys and they did some good work.”

“The pass kind of hurt us more tonight than the run,” Messalonskee Coach Brad Bishop said.

Hanson, who completed eight of 13 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns, picked up the Brunswick offense.

“He’s throwing the ball better than last year and they’re catching it,” Bishop said. “That’s the difference.”

The senior quarterback sprayed the ball around, completing passes to six receivers.

“We had to make some plays in the passing game and grind out a few first downs,” Brunswick Coach Dan Cooper said. “We had to make some big plays.”

The Dragons held a 14-0 lead at halftime.

Less than six minutes into the game, Bessey scored on a 2-yard run to cap a seven-play, 39-yard drive following Messalonskee’s first punt.

With less than three minutes left in the second quarter, Hanson threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Corban Teel to finish off an eight-play, 63-yard drive after another punt. Bessey helped keep the drive alive when he threw an halfback option pass on third down to Hanson for an 18-yard gain.

The Dragons took a 21-0 lead on their first possession of the second half when Hanson threw a 41-yard scoring pass to Jesse Devereaux. Following the kickoff, they went 65 yards in six plays.

Messalonskee responded with its only sustained drive of the game.

Quarterback Austin Pelletier swept right 6 yards for a touchdown on fourth down to cap an 11-play, 60-yard drive.

“At halftime, we made a vow to block a little better and pick up our gaps,” Bishop said. “It worked for a little while.”

“We played very physical up front and a lot of blitzing, and they couldn’t handle it in the first half,” Cooper said.

“Kudos to them for making some adjustments at halftime and getting back into the ballgame.”

The veteran Dragons made it difficult for the Eagles to move the ball on their other possessions.

“They’re a physical team,” Bishop said. “They’re good up front. They block well. They’re agggressive.”

Bessey scored on runs of 8 and 49 yards in the fourth quarter.

“This is the best opponent we’ve played,” Bishop said. “I expect (Brunswick) to go a long ways and hopefully we’ll be in the mix, too.”