Brunswick High football players celebrate after defeating Lawrence, 42-14, in the Class B North title game Friday night at Bowdoin College. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel Buy this Photo
BRUNSWICK — Brunswick quarterback Noah Goddard might have the easiest job in Maine high school football.
“I hand the ball off, and I play safety. That’s what I tell people when they ask what position I play,” he said.
With Brunswick’s potent running attack, Goddard is a facilitator: Get the ball into the hands of the talented running backs and let them follow the blockers.
The ground game was dominant Friday night in the Class B North championship game, accounting for 517 of the team’s 564 yards in a 42-14 victory over Lawrence.
It’s the fifth regional title in six years for Brunswick (11-0). The Dragons will face either Marshwood or Kennebunk in the state final next Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.
“We’ve got great players and great coaches, and parents that support us,” Brunswick Coach Dan Cooper said. “So we’ve got a good thing going on.”
Lawrence finished 9-2, with both losses to the Dragons.
“They do a nice job,” Lawrence Coach John Hersom said of Brunswick. “We knew it was going to be tough for us to match up with their speed.”
Brunswick’s Owen Richardson, right, outruns Lawrence’s Andrew Trombley en route to a touchdown Friday in the Class B North final at Bowdoin College. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel Buy this Photo
Owen Richardson ran for 294 yards on 22 carries, while Mitch Lienert added 105 yards on a dozen carries. The Pine Tree Conference Player of the Year, Richardson was dominant in the first half, running for 240 yards on 10 carries. His 64-yard touchdown run with 8:01 left in the first quarter gave the Dragons a 16-7 lead. Early in the second quarter, Richardson added a 14-yard touchdown run that pushed the lead to 28-7.
Lawrence temporarily stopped the Dragons onslaught with a 99-yard scoring drive, which Nic Blaisdell capped with a 29-yard catch from Dylan Coombs on a tight end screen just before halftime.
“We thought offensively this time around, we had a better chance than we did earlier in the season. But we just couldn’t get our offense on the field enough,” Hersom said.
The game couldn’t have started better for the Bulldogs. Paul Morneau took the opening kickoff 90 yards, racing untouched down the Lawrence sideline for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
“We knew (Morneau) is a good player and he made a great play,” Cooper said.
Brunswick took its first drive 80 yards in six plays, scoring on Cody Larson’s 4-yard run. Richardson ran in the conversion, and the Dragons had a lead they would not relinquish.
Brunswick forced three turnovers, including a Goddard interception at the Brunswick 40 early in the second quarter. When Goddard saw tight end Blaisdell take off from the line of scrimmage, he knew what was coming.
“We run that same exact play. I know the routes, so I undercut the tight end. My tight end is my favorite target, too,” Goddard said.
Goddard’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Chandler Coombs pushed Brunswick’s lead to 36-14 in the third quarter. After a Lawrence turnover, Lienert’s 43-yard touchdown run made it 42-14 with 5:37 left in the third.
Zach Nickerson had four catches for 62 yards for the Bulldogs. Morneau ran for 45 yards on nine carries.
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