BRUNSWICK

The Brunswick High School football team was tested just once in Friday night’s Pine Tree Conference clash with Lawrence.

At the end of the second quarter, the Bulldogs were approaching the red zone and looking for their first points of the game. Brunswick, with a two-touchdown lead, stopped the visitors on third down and faced a crucial fourth-and-short.

On the snap, the Dragon defensive tackles busted through the line and stuffed Lawrence on a hand-off.

The stop was immediately followed by an almost 70- yard drive capped off with a Christian Jensen touchdown pass to Corban Teel with just 16 seconds left on the clock, and led to a dominant 47-0 win.

“The kids played hard and they made a couple good plays,” Brunswick coach Dan Cooper said of his defense. “To get that score there just before half to get to 21-0 took a lot of wind out of their sail for sure.”

Brunswick (2-0) marched down the field on its opening drive, feeding seniors Jesse Devereaux and Ben Palizay on the ground. Devereaux picked up 27 of the 49 yards on the drive, while Palizay added 12 and punched in a 7- yard touchdown on the 10th play.

Up 6-0, the Dragons were fooled on a fake punt from Lawrence (0-2) on its first drive, but quickly held their ground and forced another punt four plays later.

Another long, 11-play drive was halted by the Bulldogs on the 8-yard line during Brunswick’s next possession, but the hosts had another ground attack in them. Following a quick three-and-out, Devereaux got to work again and reeled off three sizable runs to get the offense to the 12-yard line. Palizay again capped off the drive with a 12-yard scoot, and a 2-point conversion moved the score to 14-0.

Eighty-eight of Devereaux’s 117 yards came in the first half and Palizay notched 60 yards with his two scores.

“We’re a smash-mouth team,” Palizay said. “Coach Cooper always talks about how we run the ball first and pass less and it seems to be working for us.”

Still, when Cooper and his staff dialed up a pass, Jensen was ready. The second play called after the big fourth-down stop was a 31- yard floater up to Teel that put the Dragons at the 39- yard line with less than a minute to go in the half. Two more running plays and a timeout placed Brunswick on the 20, where Jensen again lofted it up to Teel in the corner of the end zone. The two plays were Teel’s only catches of the game.

“I’ve got a lot of skill kids that are capable and we’re trying to get all those guys touches,” Cooper said. “We want to threaten the whole field. With a running quarterback that’s coming a long way with the passing, I think the best is yet to come.”

More points

Jensen finished 4-of-5 for 76 yards and two touchdowns while running for 18 yards on the ground. His second touchdown pass came on Brunswick’s first drive of the second half, where a 20-yard scamper from senior Hunter Garrett put the Dragons on the edge of the red zone. On the very next play, Jackson Gordon got open on the left and caught a precisely thrown ball from Jensen as he crossed the goal line to make the score 27-0.

In all, 11 different players touched the ball on offense for Brunswick.

“We have a lot of depth on our team,” Palizay said. “Our offense is really good, our lineman are great at blocking. It’s just a great team this year.”

Sophomore Nick Munn added another rushing score in the third frame before all Brunswick starters were pulled and the junior varsity squad took over in the fourth. Lawrence’s longest drive of the game (13 plays) was ended on a fourth-down incompletion just before the quarter started.

Brunswick’s first drive of the frame, capped off with a 6-yard touchdown by Seth White, was headlined with a 65-yard field-switching run from backup quarterback Nate Girardin. The sophomore added another 18-yard rush before White’s touchdown.

The Dragons’ final score came on a 1-yard punch-in from Donald Bromiley.

Lawrence quarterback Braden Ballard finished 6-of- 13 with 54 passing yards, while running back Gunner McAllister led the rushing attack with 28 yards.

It’s now two up and two blowouts for Brunswick, which is looking to make it back to a third-straight Class B state championship game. The Dragons aren’t shy about it.

“We’re going to try and get back to the state game this year,” Palizay said. “It’s going to take a lot of hard work and dedication, but we have a great team and I think we can do it.”

“We just want to get better every week,” Cooper said. “The goal is to get back to the state championship game and we want to win it this year. I think I’ve got the team to do it.”

Brunswick 47,
Lawrence 0

Friday at Brunswick High School
Lawrence—0 0 0 0 — 0
Brunswick — 6 15 12 14 — 47
First quarter
B — Ben Palizay 7 run (run failed),
9:35.
Second quarter
B — Ben Palizay 12 run (Palizay run),
5:12.
B — Christian Jensen 20 pass to Corban Teel (kick good), 16.9.
Third quarter
B — Christian Jensen 20 pass to
Jackson Gordon (kick failed), 9:36.
B — Nick Munn 10 run (kick failed),
5:17.
Fourth quarter
B — Seth White 6 run (run failed),
7:39.
B — Donald Bromiley 1 run (Romil
Peck-Moad run), 2:17.
Records — Brunswick 2-0, Lawrence
0-2.
Up next for the Dragons — Friday at
home against Cony, 7 p.m.