AUGUSTA — Coming off an uneven offensive performance against Lawrence last week, Brunswick wanted to get back on track by feeding the ball to workhorse running back Will Bessey early and often in Friday night’s Pine Tree Conference Class B game against Cony.
In fact, the Dragons were so eager to get Bessey going that they intercepted Cony QB Taylor Heath on the Rams’ first two possessions and put them in an early hole they could never escape.
Bessey rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries to lead Brunswick to a 58-27 win over Cony at Alumni Field.
“It was huge to get out there, get two quick scores on the board and get the momentum going,” Bessey said. “We started out strong and we ended strong as well.”
“We didn’t play very good complementary football early,” Cony coach BL Lippert said. “We gave them a short field with two turnovers. They went right down the field. But I’m not sure it made much of a difference how long the field was. They kind of went up-and-down all night against us. That’s a really good offensive football team, and they were without one of their better running backs as well.”
Ben Palizay filled in for the injured Hunter Garrett and added 107 yards and three rushing touchdowns for Brunswick (3-0), which racked up 515 total yards on offense.
Heath threw for 283 yards and four touchdowns for Cony (1-2). Jordan Roddy (five catches, 96 yards) had two TD receptions.
Auggie Lienart’s interception on the third play of the game set the Dragons up at Cony’s 42 for their first offensive series. Bessey went 38 yards on his first carry, then, after a false start penalty, ran it in off right tackle from 8 yards out for the lead just 2:20 into the game.
Brunswick picked off Heath again three plays into the Rams’ next series, this time on a diving grab by Alex Larson at Cony’s 42.
The Dragons fed the ball to Bessey on the next five plays to get down to the 4.
“The offensive line will block for anyone, but we like Will Bessey running the ball,” Brunswick senior tackle Josh Goddard said. “He’s his own blocker. You’re not going to bring him down with the first guy.”
Palizay took it in from there for his first touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
The Rams’ next drive stalled at midfield, forcing them to punt. The Dragons then started mixing in the play-action passing of senior QB Thomas Hanson ((6-for-9, 133 yards, TD), including a 15-yard completion to Alan Molnar down to the Cony 3. Hanson called his own number on the next play for the touchdown.
“You load up the box and Hanson can beat you with his arm,” Lippert said. “He’s an added dimension to that offense.”
Heath and Roddy hooked up for a couple of first downs on the Rams’ first scoring drive, then capped it with a 19-yard TD pass over the middle to make it 21-7 with 9:24 left in the first half.
Brunswick needed just four plays to answer. Bessey made it a three-touchdown cushion again with a 40-yard run that showcased his balance, vision and speed.
“I just hit the hole and I had a big lineman right in front of me. I just read which way to go, read left and I just took off,” Bessey said.
Brunswick’s next score was in many ways a dagger for the Rams. Hanson threw deep over the middle to 6-foot-5 tight end Corban Teel (three catches, 81 yards), who juggled the ball with one defender draped on him, gathered it in, then bounced off the safety for a 44-yard touchdown.
The snap on the extra point was muffed, but Hanson collected it and found Teel in a crowd in the right corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion and a 36-7 lead.
Heath found Roddy on 4th-and-goal from the 2 to make it 36-14 just before halftime.
Larson opened the second half with a 31-yard field goal and Palizay scored on runs of 16 and 27 yards to salt the game away.
Reid Shostak (10 carries, 74 yards) took a shovel pass from Heath 49 yards for a touchdown. Heath added a 75-yard scoring strike to Anthony Brunelle in the fourth quarter.
The Rams finished with 358 total yards on offense.
“We figured our D could play well if we limited the big play and forced them to drive the field. And that’s what we did,” Brunswick coach Dan Cooper said. “They didn’t really have a big play until maybe late in the third quarter.”
“We probably played about a C offensively,” Lippert said. “We had some moments where some guys made some plays. I’m not sure how well we protected the quarterback. I’ll have to wait and see on film. He had some nice plays and a few inaccurate throws. I think we just succumbed to their pressure a little bit. Defensively, they brought some heat against us.”
Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638
rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com
Twitter: @RAWmateral33
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