BRUNSWICK

The Brunswick starting defense is usually on the bench in the fourth quarter. In Friday night’s Class B North regional high school football final against Brewer, the Dragons were on the field defending for their lives.

After holding Brunswick to just two touchdowns through almost four quarters and coming up huge on a fourth-down stop inside the 5-yard line, visiting Brewer was closer to an upset than anyone has been this season.

Down two points, running back Ray Wood led the Witches down the field in hurry-up mode, eventually facing a fourth-and-8 on the 43-yard line. A desperation pass was caught inside the 40, but there was just 1.2 seconds left on the clock after a spike.

The final heave was batted down and Brunswick stormed the field after narrowly escaping with its third straight regional final, 14-12.

“We rallied,” senior defensive end/wide receiver Jackson Gordon said. “We knew that this could be our last game. Us seniors knew that if we lost here, we’re done playing football. We rallied, we practiced what we did all week and we did it on the field. It paid off.”

With the score deadlocked 6-6 midway through the third quarter, Ben Palizay gave Brunswick (10-0) the field position it needed with a 57-yard kickoff return. From there, running back Hunter Garrett took over. The senior rushed once for 13 yards before breaking free on a 37-yarder that gave the Dragons the lead.

Quarterback Christian Jensen punched in the eventual game-winning 2-point try with 7:04 on the clock for a 14-6 advantage.

“We played pretty well,” Brewer coach Nick Arthers said. “A couple mistakes down in the red zone. A couple of turnovers hurt us here and there. Overall, very proud of my guys and they put forth a heck of an effort. Not many people have had a chance to come down here and do much of anything. We hung with them.”

The Brewer (8-2) defense held the Dragons to by far the fewest amount of points they’ve scored this season, but Garrett proved to be too much. He gashed the Witches for seven runs of 10 yards or more and finished with 253 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 16 carries.

“He really ran hard in the second half,” Brunswick coach Dan Cooper said of Garrett. “It’s a shame we didn’t get one in here to finish because the way he was running — we just didn’t do it down there at the end. Brewer made some great plays.”

First half of firsts

Brewer made it clear from the get-go that Friday’s game had nothing to do with the first meeting this season, which was a 42-12 Brunswick win.

The Dragons were stuffed on three straight running plays on the game’s opening drive and Garrett was forced to punt for the first time this season. Then, after forcing a fumble and getting the ball back, Garrett lined up for a punt again and was stopped short on a run attempt.

Two plays later, Wood punched in a touchdown and handed Brunswick its first deficit of the season.

“We’ve been down before, just not this year. I knew we had a lot of game left,” Cooper said.

Wood, per usual, was a workforce for Brewer, rushing for 193 yards and two touchdowns on 41 carries. Hit after hit, he kept lining up in the backfield and taking handoffs.

“He’s an unbelievable athlete,” Arthers said of Wood. “Tremendous kid overall. He showed his heart tonight, ran the ball hard. Brunswick had a couple of big hits on him and he keeps getting up and keeps wanting the ball. It’s going to be hard to replace him. That’s just the type of kid he is.”

“We knew they were going to be good,” Cooper said. “The first game they melted down. This game, they were physical, they were executing. They were running hard, they were tough to bring down. They’re a good football team.”

After Wood’s second score at the 6:23 mark in the fourth quarter, he was handed the ball again in an attempt to tie the game with a 2-point conversion. Brunswick stepped up and stuffed him to maintain the lead.

“Really physical,” Gordon said of the battle in the trenches. “They were running hard and we weren’t wrapping up and we paid the price, but towards the fourth quarter we finished them off.”

A mere 20 seconds after Wood’s opening score, Garrett exploded for a 70-yard touchdown to tie things up.

Senior Jesse Devereaux, who limped into the locker room at halftime with an apparent ankle injury, combined with Palizay for 48 yards on 18 carries, while Brewer’s Garrett Ireland notched 33 yards on 13 gives.

There were just three completed passes in the game, with Jensen finding Devereaux and Corban Teel for a pair of first downs.

Every offensive player that touched the ball for Brunswick was a senior who now has one final shot to bring home a state championship.

“It means everything. I just want to win the thing for my town,” Gordon said.

“It means a lot,” Cooper said. “We’ve got a gifted program. We’ve got great parents, I’ve got a great coaching staff, great players. Overall, working towards the same thing and I’m blessed.”

The Dragons will play Class B South champion Kennebunk this upcoming Friday at the University of Maine. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.

“A lot of emotions,” Gordon said. “We’re really excited as a team. It was a little closer than we wanted, but ready to finally get back to states and win it this time.”

No. 1 Brunswick 14,
No. 2 Brewer 12

Class B North Regional Football
Final, Friday at Brunswick High
School
Brewer — 6 0 0 6 — 12
Brunswick — 6 0 8 0 — 14
First quarter
(Brew) — Ray Wood 1 run (run
failed), 5:58.
(Brun) — Hunter Garrett 70 run (run
failed), 5:38.
Third quarter
(Brun) Hunter Garrett 37 run (Christian Jensen run), 7:04.
Fourth quarter
(Brew) — Ray Wood 7 run (run
failed), 6:23.
Records — Brunswick 10-0, Brewer
8-2.
Up next for the Dragons — Class B
State Championship against Kennebunk, Friday, 7 p.m.