Lawrence High School’s Keyes Field holds no mystique over Brunswick High School football coach Dan Cooper. Not when he’s brought his Dragons there for so many games over the years. Not when he sees his uncle Pete Cooper’s name on the press box. Certainly not when he knows how much success his team has had there over the years, including playoff wins and a regular season victory just last season.
“It’s kind of like going home for me,” Cooper said. “We love playing up there. Keyes is one of the best high school football environments in Maine.”
Brunswick vs Lawrence has become one of those games fans of the Pine Tree Conference circle when the schedule comes out. More often than not, both teams are contenders for the conference title, and the game is a playoff preview. With both teams at 3-0, two of the three remaining undefeated teams in the league, this game will be one that determines playoff seeding come late October.
Here’s a look at the Brunswick-Lawrence matchup:
When: 7 tonight
Where: Keyes Field, Fairfield
Three keys for Brunswick:
- Play smarter.
In last week’s 27-14 win over Windham, the Dragons were able to overcome 14 penalties for 110 yards. Cooper called the undisciplined play uncharacteristic of his team. If Brunswick gives Lawrence that much free yardage, or has offensive penalties that stall drives, it could be tough to overcome.
- Back to basics.
Lawrence and Brunswick are similar in that both use a wing-T based, run first style. That’s an approach rarer and rarer in high school football, and one Cooper said the Dragons haven’t seen this season.
“We’ve been playing quite a few spread teams,” Cooper said. “It seems like us and them are really alike. They run a lot of the same stuff we do.”
That familiarity could help. This game will be a crash course in stopping the run, and that will be the focus for Brunswick’s defense.
• Spread the wealth.
The strength of Brunswick offense is its depth. The Dragons don’t have one back the Bulldogs can key on every play. Last week, Mitch Lienert ran for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Owen Richardson ran for 134 yards and a score.
“We’re definitely aware of their running game. They do spread it out with their running backs,” Lawrence coach John Hersom said.
Three keys for Lawrence
- Ball control.
Last week, Lawrence scored 35 points in the first half of its win over Skowhegan. The Bulldogs scored on each of their first five drives, and made it look easy. In the second half, that all disappeared. Lawrence was held scoreless over the final two quarters, and turned the ball over on three of six possessions, not including taking a knee on a seventh and final possession after recovering an onside kick in the final seconds.
Turnovers can’t happen against a team of Brunswick’s quality, Hersom said, but more than that, ball control is about limiting the small yet costly mistakes, like jumping offside.
“All of those things were uncharacteristic (last week) of our past teams, and we think by addressing it, we can limit them,” Hersom said.
- Big plays.
The power run game is the foundation on which Brunswick’s offense is built, but over the years, the Dragons have struck Lawrence for big plays in the passing game, or in special teams. The Bulldogs can’t get lulled into creeping up to overfocus on the run, because that’s when Brunswick will hit them with the halfback option pass or a similar trick play.
- Short gains.
First and second down are the key for Lawrence. The more third and long situations it can force upon the Dragons, the better off the Bulldogs will be. Even the best running games can’t convert on third and more than five or six yards over and over again.
“Hopefully we can keep them in third and long situations,” Hersom said.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
