BRUNSWICK

One team is 2-0 and riding high in Belair. Another is 1-1, but coming off a tough onesided loss. And, another is 0-2 and saddled with a 20-game losing streak.

Brunswick (2-0, scheduled to visit 1-1 Lewiston), Morse (1-1 and traveling to 2-0 Leavitt) and Mt. Ararat (0-2, hosting 1-1 Cony) are all in action tonight and looking for positives.

Brunswick, with leading rusher Jared Jensen and his six blocks of granite up front have been the darlings of the Pine Tree Conference, what with television and newsprint interviews galore.

Jensen has racked up 710 yards and nine TDs in just TWO games, but as any successful running back will tell those who will listen, they’re only as good as those pushing and pulling up front.

In this case, Brunswick messengers Nolan Robbins (TE), Brett Lancaster (T), Josh Thibeault (T) Colby Dwyer (C), Jacob Duffy (G), Nick Dodson (G) and Logan Tupper (RB) have done yeoman’s work.

Head coach Dan Cooper is effusive in his praise of his unsung heroes.

“The most impressive thing about our team is the level of pride our kids have in our team and their willingness to do whatever necessary to make our team better,” said Cooper. “It’s true, where there is a good football team, there are good lineman. I’ve always had great lineman, willing to give it up for the Dragons. But this year’s crew has taken it to the next level. They play angry and get after it to the backside of the whistle.

“They ignore pain and fatigue and eat grass for fun,” lauded Cooper. “They enjoy hitting the sled and board drills. This group has completely bought into what we’ve asked of them and have confidence and faith in one another and in the coaching staff. When you can get that from your line, you can do some special things.”

For now, Cooper and his staff won’t let the Dragons rest on their laurels or let this early success go to their heads.

“For us to compete at the end of the year with the ‘top dogs’ we’ll need to get better and stronger every day,” Cooper vowed. “An 11-week football season is exhausting to these kids. We need to find ways to keep them hungry, healthy and beaming Brunswick football pride. If we can do that we’ll give ourselves a good chance to do something special at the end.”

But, Cooper is pleased with all the attention.

“The recognition is great. I’m happy our kids are getting some. They have worked very hard to put themselves into a position deserving of respect. However, they realize that the spotlight is only one bad performance away from disappearing. Any let-up leads to failure, injury and disappointment. We fear that, so we’ll keep ‘cracking the whip,’ stay the course and do everything possible to get stronger and better.”

The league is competitive and Brunswick can ill afford any letdowns.

“Our league has some very good teams,” added Cooper. “We still have to play a number of them. Lawrence is every bit as good as advertised, and Messalonskee and Cony are first-rate. This week’s opponent (Lewiston) may have the best skill players in the league. They will test us where we have traditionally struggled on defense.

“Each team will challenge us, regardless of record. Lewiston knows us well. With former coach Dick Leavitt on staff they’ll be well rehearsed in what we do. Being a top-10 team in the state now, every team we play will be gunning to knock us off. That’s what makes this game so special. The stakes are high. One loss could knock you out of, or put you on the road, in the playoffs.”

Cooper likes this team and hopes for better things to come.

“Great teams rise to the challenge each week,” offered Cooper. “Great teams get better every day. Great teams are poised under fire and demonstrate great character consistently. We aren’t there, yet. We are still a work in progress, but we know where we want to go, and the kids will work tirelessly to get there.”

Mt. Ararat

This has been another rough start for the Eagles, who have been outscored 54- 14 in losses to Lewiston and Oxford Hills. Cony is coming off a 41-13 win over Edward Little in which quarterback Ben Lucas threw for four touchdowns and passed for another.

Mt. Ararat head coach Frank True remains vigilant in his attempt to right the ship.

“Some of the positives that we can draw on have been that we continue to put in solid effort each week, and have been getting a lot of work done in practice,” said True in his second year. “We believe we as a team are in very good shape, and it has shown the first few weeks of the season. We also have remained competitive for four quarters, something that didn’t happen last year.”

There’s been a lot of work in practice trying to mend some fences, said True.

“We have been trying to fix the mistakes and miscues that continue to haunt us,” said True. “Penalties and turnovers have plagued us the first two games. The kids are committed to right the ship so to speak moving forward.”

True respects the Rams.

“Cony has another great team this year, and their team has plenty of size and speed. We have to try and avoid mismatches by getting the right personnel packages on the field for the situation,” said True. “For us offensively, we have to cut down on our mistakes. If we can do these two things, we hope to remain competitive with them.”

There will be no moping around on campus, no woe-isus attitudes, added True.

“We have been talking about this from day one of training camp, we have preached not to dwell on the last play, series or last game. Don’t compound a mistake by getting down on yourself, fix it and execute it better the next play,” allowed the coach. “We also talk about the team not getting down on each other — instead lift each other up by making a play for them, pick them up. We have a solid group of players that have had their share of adversity, and understand things have to change for the outcome to be different … unfortunately change doesn’t happen overnight.”

Hopefully, better times lie ahead.

“There is a light at the end of the tunnel, as this offseason we had more freshman in the weight room than ever,” offered True. “Our sophomore class has been working hard at learning the varsity football way and have made huge improvements; our junior class is committed to becoming bigger and stronger and our senior class have been showing the underclassmen the level of intensity that is needed to compete at a high level.

“As more players commit to offseason workouts and motivating each other to become better students athletes, our program will continue to grow.”

Morse

The Shipbuilders are coming off a tough 31-8 loss at Gardiner and will try to regroup against a Leavitt team which blanked Belfast last week 35-0 and has won 35 straight PTC contests.

Morse coach Jason Darling feels his Shipbuilders are up for the challenge.

“A month into our season the kids are still working as hard as if it was day one,” said Darling. “We’ve got a young group, but a group of guys that likes to get after it everyday in practice. People are challenging others for positions and playing time, which breeds a competitive atmosphere, which makes us better as a team.”

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised with our young guys who, because of a lack of upperclassmen, have been forced into varsity roles, probably before they should have been,” continued Darling. “They’ve accepted the challenge, and made our team significantly better. We had some holes coming into this season, and they’ve done a great job filling those spots for us.

“Guys like Josh McDougal (sophomore, CB/WR/QB), Dylan Severt (sophomore, OT/DT) and Juwan Moore (freshman, OT/DT) have stepped up as varsity starters. I’ve also been impressed with those guys who don’t always get put in the spotlight, but work hard everyday to make us better. Guys like Thaddeus Bushnell (sophomore, C/LB), Joshua Dunning (sophomore, G/DE), Jared Malcolm (sophomore, TE/LB), and Kevin Feeney (sophomore, RB/CB).”

Many of Darling’s charges are learning on the fly.

“Mentally, our young guys have done a fantastic job picking up our system and our terminology quickly, but they still need more repetitions to improve upon their technique. When the guy across from you is a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger, you’ve got to rely on your technique to help you succeed.

“We need more work on technique and fundamentals. When it comes right down to it, it’s about blocking and tackling. We need to continue to improve in those areas everyday.”

Morse knows all too well about the Hornets.

“Leavitt has set the standard for excellence in our league over the past couple of seasons. The last league game they lost was to Morse in 2008, and they have been steamrolling through ever since. They lost a lot through graduation last year, but have a wonderful system in place and a great coach, which always makes them a load to deal with. Leavitt can be beat, but they will not beat themselves.

“In order to compete you have to limit your mistakes, and take advantage of theirs. I expect a very competitive game Friday night.”

Last week’s loss still weighs heavily on Darling’s mind.

“Last Friday night we laid an egg,” he offered, “We played poor, undisciplined football, and we are aware of it. The toughest thing is to make sure that your kids don’t change their expectations. Sometimes, if it can go wrong, it will, and that’s the situation we had last Friday. We’re still a good football team. We’re still going to have a great season. They need to know that. I didn’t get them ready to play, and we lacked composure, which all traces back to the head coach. I need to do a better job getting our team ready to play.

“When they play like they’re capable of, I’d take us against anybody.”

GEORGE ALMASI is the Times Record sports editor. He can be reached at galmasi@timesrecord.com