BRUNSWICK — Given his background, Thomas Hanson should be more comfortable handling a ball that’s round and orange rather than oblong and tan.
In fact, two days after the Class B football state championship game, Hanson will be back on a basketball court under the tutelage of his father, Brunswick High boys’ coach Todd Hanson.
But on Saturday night the elder Hanson and his own father, former Foxcroft Academy basketball coach Arthur “Skip” Hanson, will be in the stands at Fitzpatrick Stadium rooting for Brunswick’s senior quarterback and the rest of the Dragons as they take on defending champion Marshwood in a rematch of last year’s title game.
Brunswick, the top seed in the North, is 9-1 and has outscored two playoff opponents, 89-0. Marshwood, seeded third in the South, is 9-2 and beat its three playoff opponents – No. 6 Kennebunk, No. 7 Greely and No. 1 Falmouth – by at least three touchdowns each.
Marshwood thumped Brunswick 44-18 a year ago in the state title game and is making its third appearance in four years. Brunswick hasn’t won a football state title since sharing the Class B crown with Madison in 1963.
“Last year we were kind of inexperienced,” Thomas Hanson said. “Once we got to the big game we were a little nervous and they’ve been in that situation before. They got off to a good start and we couldn’t really recover.”
The one shadow on Brunswick’s 49-0 regional final rout of Brewer – avenging the Dragons’ lone regular-season loss – was a second-quarter hamstring injury to workhorse fullback Will Bessey, who has run for more than 3,500 yards in three years and this season alone scored 20 touchdowns.
Bessey said he plans to play against Marshwood, both at fullback and linebacker, but the hamstring strain may limit his effectiveness. That in turn may cause the run-heavy Brunswick offense to rely more on passing.
“I bet we will throw a little bit more,” said Hanson, who completed 51 of 98 passes this season for 968 yards, 15 touchdowns and no interceptions. “But we will have guys behind Bessey that can make plays.”
Juniors Hunter Garrett, Ben Palizay and Jesse Devereaux are all capable ball carriers, said Brunswick Coach Dan Cooper. Hanson has several inviting targets, including tight end Corban Teel (15 catches for 325 yards and six TDs), wide receiver Jackson Gordon (seven catches, 99 yards, three TDs), and running backs Bessey, Devereaux and Garrett, who have seven receiving touchdowns between them.
“He’s been throwing dimes,” Teel said of Hanson’s precision passing.
“If I had a nickname for Tom, I’d probably call him Mr. Fundamentals,” Bessey said. “He does everything that’s asked of him in, I don’t know, a Tom way. It’s just perfectly done.”
In the spring, Bessey plays center field on Brunswick’s baseball team alongside Hanson, the right fielder. Like his jump shot in basketball, Hanson’s throws from the outfield are also fundamentally sound, Bessey said.
“He does everything correctly,” Bessey said.
Hanson did have three passes picked off last year but he has yet to lose a fumble. A few snaps have gone awry, but each time Brunswick recovered the ball.
“So he’s never turned the ball over once (this year),” Cooper said. “Just like a point guard would, he takes care of the ball. I think his father drilled it into him.”
Todd Hanson played on Waterville High’s 1985 Class A basketball state championship team and coached Brunswick’s 2002 champs. Skip Hanson coached Foxcroft to the 1975 Class B basketball state title.
On Saturday, Thomas Hanson has a chance to add to the family lore. It might not be the Hanson way but could be, as Bessey said, the Tom way.
“He’s always been solid,” Bessey said. “But I feel like he’s more comfortable this year. He has more confidence. He’s definitely the leader of the offense.”
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