The Brunswick High golf team made program history last season. This season, Coach Mike Routhier figures, why not do it again?

“One of the things we accomplished last year that Brunswick never did was win a state championship,” he said. “The new goal is, what’s Brunswick never done before? Never gone back-to-back.”

The golf season has begun and Brunswick, the defending Class A champion, is looking plenty capable of winning it again in October. The Dragons are off to a 5-0 start, having outscored opponents 38-7. All but one player from last year’s squad is back. They’re deep, they’re talented, and with seniors making up six of the nine spots on the varsity roster, they’re motivated to finish with a flourish.

“We know this is our last year with this very strong team,” said junior Will Farschon. “We’re going to try to make a run at the state championship again.”

This year, however, the Dragons can’t sneak up on anyone. Going into the 2022 state championships, they were coming off a fifth-place showing at the 2021 Class A championships and were vying for a title as a KVAC team in an SMAA-dominated class. The Caleb Manuel-led Mt. Ararat teams won titles in 2018 and ’19, but aside from that, teams from southern Maine’s large school conference had won 13 of the previous 15 championships.

The Dragons were going against the tide – or at least, they knew that’s how it was perceived.

“I think a lot of recognition goes to schools that are playing in the southern league, and northern schools like us don’t get as much attention,” said senior Garrett Countway. “I think that helped fuel our ambition and drive to get ourselves out there.”

It was likely a surprise to many when Brunswick came in with a score of 312, five shots clear of defending champion Falmouth and Scarborough. But there’s no sneaking up on anyone this time.

This fall, all sights are set on the Dragons.

“Everyone knows you, ‘Oh, they’re the defending state champs. We want to beat them,'” Farschon said. “They mark that on their calendars, ‘That’s the biggest match we’re going to have all year.'”

Routhier addressed the topic early.

“We mentioned it in preseason, the guys know it,” Routhier said. “The target might be a little bigger. Some of the No. 1 players that we’ve played already are playing well against our (No.) 1s.”

Brunswick, though, is prepared for the spotlight. Losing top scorer Austin Stromick to graduation was tough, but the Dragons have the depth to absorb it. Farschon was the first-round leader at the Maine Junior Championships with a 3-under 69, and he’s averaging 39.2 for nine holes so far this season at Brunswick’s No. 1 player.

Behind him are players who in any match can go low. Charlie Austin (41.3 through four matches), a senior, shot a 68 at the National High School Golf Invitational in Frisco, Texas, in July. Countway has been under 40 in two of his four matches, with a low of 37.

Ayden Marini, a senior, has carded a 37 and 38 in competition and was the team’s lowest scorer in a victory over Mt. Ararat. Brayden Grant, another senior, has broken 40 twice. Logan Rossignol, yet another senior, has shot 40 twice.

“When we played Mt. Ararat, we relied on our third, fourth, fifth, sixth guys,” Routhier said. “We still have that depth, which is nice to have. And these guys have some comfort level, too. They have guys behind them that can play.”

That depth is built through hundreds of holes played during the summer at Brunswick Golf Club, and honed during the season with competitive practices. There’s often a 1-on-1 or 2-on-2 match going, or a scramble, or something else drawn up to spark some intensity.

“Our practices can get intense. We really like to challenge each other,” Austin said. “It’s a long day after school, you might be tired, you might just want to go hack it. But when Garrett’s making birdie putts and Will’s hitting some good shots, it just pushes you. ‘You know what, I can be like them, too.'”

Routhier knows that competitiveness can only help.

“It gets them ready for matches. That’s where it starts,” he said. “They just have a way of creating that in-house competition, in a good way. I think it just gets them more ready for when it really counts.”

The Dragons hope it’ll serve them well again at the end of the season, and get them a return trip to Natanis Golf Course for the state championships. The pieces are there, but that doesn’t guarantee anything in the season’s final match. Falmouth returned most of its players from its title team last year, as did Yarmouth in Class B. Neither team defended its championship.

Brunswick is hoping for a different conclusion.

“I think the biggest thing is (not to) beat themselves, as far as the mental aspect of it,” Routhier said. “Just realize it’s a new season, and a new challenge.”

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