BRUNSWICK

It took a half for the offenses to start jiving, and when they did, Brunswick relied on its depth to come away with a hard-fought 27-25 victory over Falmouth in Class B crossover football action Friday night.

The Dragons amassed 349 yards of rushing behind five different runners on their way to earning the victory.

“The offense really won the game for us in the second half,” Brunswick (1-0) coach Dan Cooper said, “because we couldn’t stop them.”

Owen Richardson led the ground attack with 169 yards and two touchdowns before leaving with an injury in the fourth quarter. Cam Hathaway rushed for 101 yards and a score, while Mitch Lienert had two big carries for 20 yards and a TD.

“Owen had a great half on the ground, but more importantly, he played exceptional on defense,” added Cooper.

Defense was the name of the game in the opening half. After each team traded punts in a scoreless opening quarter, both offenses stalled on their drives to open the second frame. On the Dragons’ fourth possession, Richardson made his presence known. The sophomore broke off a pair of runs — 23 and 19 yards — towards the south end of the field to move inside the 10-yard line. Two carries later, Richardson pushed over the goal line for the game’s first score. The point-after kick was blocked and the Dragons held a 6-0 lead.

Neither team found the end zone in the first half from there. Brunswick rushed for 157 first-half yards while the defense, led by Richardson, Nick Munn and Jack Harvey, kept Falmouth to only 67 yards in the opening half.

“Our defense played strong in the first half,” Cooper said. “We played so well in the first half, it was a shame we were only up 6-0. That led to a dogfight in the second half.”

Second half, second wind

The Yachtsmen received the ball to open the third quarter and immediately pushed the ball into Brunswick territory. The backfield trio of Riley Reed, Sam Kidder and Coleman Allen drove 45 yards down the field, only to stall at the 17-yard line when the snap was fumbled on third-and-two. A Sam Pausman field goal cut the Brunswick lead to 6-3 minutes into the half.

The home team responded with a quality drive of its own. A seven play, 73-yard drive capped by a 17-yard run by Richardson, put Brunswick ahead 13-3 following the kick by Cam Folsom.

Falmouth took the ensuing kickoff into Brunswick territory and quarterback Nick Mancini connected with Jackman Gravier-Webber for a 17-yard grab that energized the squad. Five plays later, Allen pushed through the line and into the end zone for the score. The kick was missed and Falmouth (0-1) trailed 13-9.

Brunswick punted on its next possession and pinned the Yachtsmen on their own 11-yard line. Gravier-Webber rattled off a 29-yard run to get close to midfield. But a fumble forced by the Brunswick defense, recovered by Lienert on the F-31, turned the ball over with 11 minutes remaining in the game.

Quarterback Nate Giradin connected with Richardson on a 12-yard pass, setting up a pair of runs by Lienert for the score, giving the Dragons a 20-9 lead.

The Yachtsmen, led by Mancini, were not done. The visitors once again reached the end zone on a 4-yard touchdown run by the quarterback. Following the 2- point conversion, Falmouth trailed 20-17.

“What I found out is that there’s a heart in these kids,” Falmouth coach John Fitzsimmons said. “They never quit.”

Neither did the Dragons. Hathaway, who replaced Richardson with the bulk of the carries after he left the game early in the fourth quarter, took the third play of the next drive and broke a pair of tackles. The sophomore sprinted down the center of the field to cross over the goal line as he was being tackled for a 47-yard score. Folsom hit his third point-after kick of the game to put the Dragons up by 10 points, 27-17.

As its coach repeatedly commented on after the game, Falmouth did not give up. After collecting a couple of first downs, Brunswick’s Treyvon McKenzie stuffed Allen for a 9-yard loss, but Mancini hit on his next three passes, including a 17- yard strike to Brady Douglas for the score. After the 2- point conversion, Falmouth pulled within two points with 2:43 on the clock.

Brunswick recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt, and Girardin and Hathaway ran down the clock. Falmouth had one last chance with less than a second remaining, but the Brunswick defense swarmed Mancini for a game-ending sack to secure the win.

Cooper was pleased with the win, but concerned with the injuries a few of his players sustained.

“We lost a couple of good players to injury and we were scrambling to execute,” Cooper said. “Then they got their second wind and they really started to execute.”

Brunswick travels to Skowhegan this upcoming Friday night (7 p.m.)