BRUNSWICK

Whether it be throwing on warm clothes and a jacket to watch a high school football game on a cool Friday night or sitting in front of the television on Sunday afternoon watching the professionals battle it out from one end of the field to the other, there is one part of the game that many fans may not pay that much attention to. The secondary unit.

On the offensive side of the football most know who the wide receivers, running backs and quarterbacks are, but it seems that those who are paired with those respective players go unnoticed. Who are they?

Well, that’s the secondary unit consisting of the cornerbacks, who intend to stop any pass thrown their way, or it might be the safeties, who have every intention of stopping the running game.

Sure, any football expert will tell you this is all obvious, but to the average football fan these unsung heroes tend to go unnoticed. But, for the Brunswick Dragons the secondary unit has proven itself time and time again over the course of the season, and it will once again be put to the test on Saturday when the Dragons take on Marshwood High School in the Class B State Championship at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland, with kick-off scheduled for 6:06 p.m.

“Coach has told us that in past years our secondary unit has been pretty soft,” senior defensive back Kyle Maillet said during Wednesday’s practice. “The last offseason we all worked pretty hard and hit the gym a lot, we improved our game a lot just trying to be the best secondary.”

“We preach every day ‘don’t get beat deep, don’t give up the big play,’” Dragons head coach Dan Cooper said. “That’s really their responsibilities, to be there, should (the other team) get past that front eight. We work on it all year, they get quite a bit of practice at it and we’ve been pretty good at it. We’ve given up a few big plays throughout the year, but we have not given up many big runs.

“If I went back and looked at all 10 games, I would be hard pressed to find any runs over 30 yards against us.”

Brunswick has a cumulative record of 9-1 between the regular season and the postseason, with its only loss coming to Messalonskee on Oct. 10 when the Eagles walked away with a 20-7 victory, but that loss was quickly eliminated when the Dragons beat them in the Eastern B semifinals, 27-20.

Through 10 games the Dragons have outscored their opponents 375-168, giving them an average game score of 37-17. However, Marshwood has had equal success, posting a perfect 11- 0 record going into Saturday’s match-up, outscoring its opponents 559-80. With what are now classified as the two best Class B teams in the state going up for the ultimate prize, the Dragon defense has an even bigger reason to stand tall and not back down.

“We’ve been working on coming up a lot more this week,” sophomore linebacker Jesse Devereaux said. “ Coach is trusting our deep guys, like Ricky (Klatt), who is one of our safeties, and Maillet to cover deep, so myself, Hunter ( Garrett) and (Alan) Molnar can come in and stop the run. But, we have to respect their passes as well because their quarterback is someone who can pass.

“ We have to take on blocks this week, get through them and get to the ball. They’ve shown, they’re a good running team, especially with ( Brett) Gerry, and their quarterback is pretty mobile from what I’ve heard.”

“We’ve played some bigthreat potential teams already this year,” Cooper said. “Lawrence was certainly a team that had a couple of kids that could really get after it, who were fast, tall and lanky that Marshwood doesn’t have. We’ve played those passing teams in the past that has prepared us well. They’ve seen a lot of passes over the last couple of years, so they’ve been pretty good about not getting beat deep.”

High school football, especially in the north, has been known to be heavier on the running game, but even though passes may not be frequented toward the sidelines and deep down field, Klatt says staying mentally prepared has never been an issue.

“We always try to keep in our mindset that there’s always a possibility that they’re going to throw it even if they are like Marshwood, which is a heavy run team,” he said. “So we always stay prepared, but we always keep in the back of our minds that we can’t let anyone behind us, but we also have to be aggressive when they’re running the ball.”

As the Dragons continue to work over the next couple days in preparation for Saturday’s big game, Cooper says that his secondary unit is one of the strongest components of his team, one that is willing to get the job done no matter what the cost.

“They’ve really bought into our philosophy,” the coach said. “All of those guys, they’re some of the hardest workers on the team, but they’re also very humble and they’re willing to do whatever it takes. They know they’re really valuable to our team. We sometimes joke around with them and give them some grief, but they’re so valuable to our team.”