ORONO– The third time was the charm for the Brunswick Dragons football team. The Dragons got two touchdowns from Ben Palizay and rolled to a 28-6 victory over Kennebunk in the class B state championship game Friday night at the Univerisity of Maine at Orono.
The Dragons lost the state title game the last two seasons against Marshwood. The group of 21 seniors on the Brunswick roster took the memories and experience from those games.
“We have 21 seniors, probably the biggest class ever at Brunswick. It is a great feeling,”Palizay said. “We have been here before and we knew how to handle ourselves.”
Palizay gave the Dragons a jumpstart when he took the opening kickoff 70 yards to the Rams 15 yard line. Just three plays later, Palizay ran into the end-zone from two yards out. The two point play was converted and Brunswick had an 8-0 lead just 1:13 into the game.
Palizay said, “it was great blocking. I was able to hit the hole, go 70 yards and set up our offense in great position to score.”
Palizay was special on special teams throughout. He also capped the scoring in the fourth quarter. Palizay carried the workload late in the game after Hunter Garrett went down with an injury.
“Palizay had a big punt return and a couple big kickoff returns. He is a great player,”Brunswick coach Daniel Cooper said. “He (Palizay) finished it for us when Hunter (Garrett) went down.”
Garrett had a four yard touchdown run, while quarterback Christian Jensen had a one yard scoot into the end-zone to help the Dragons build a 22-6 halftime lead.
The only score from the Rams came from Patrick Saunders. He scored from one yard out after Brunswick lost a fumble at their own 13 yard line. The Dragons had five turnovers. Thanks to a strong defense only one came back to hurt them on the scoreboard.
This Dragons team knew what their goals were since the first day of practice in August. The large group of seniors made sure they were not stopping until that goal was reached.
“We laid it out on day one. The goal was to win the state championship. We wanted to go undefeated. We were going to work our butts off until that happened,”Cooper said. “They did that and they did it happily. They are a great group to be around, I am going to miss them.”
Brunswick senior running back/linebacker Nelson Gay added, “we have been trying to push for this for years and years. Finally we pushed hard enough and we got it.”
The Dragons also had an emotional boost when their playoff run got going. Jaznel Burns returned after missing the regular season.
“Our best player has been out all season. He came back for the playoff run,”Cooper said. “Jazmel Burns is one hell of a football player.”
Palizay put the game away with a two yard touchdown run with 3:17 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Brunswick (11-0) out gained Kennebunk 250-145, including 123-13 in the first half. This is the first state title for Brunswick football since 1963. This is the first win for the Dragons in a state championship game. The first two state titles were pre playoff days. The Rams finish the season with a record of 10-1.
