By David Fierro
Scoring touchdowns on its first two drives, Brunswick School’s football team seemed primed to enjoy a successful Senior Day against visiting Phillips Exeter Academy in a much-anticipated matchup featuring undefeated Northeast Prep league squads.
Yet it was Phillips Exeter that left Robert L. Cosby field with its perfect record intact.
Totaling 22 first-half points, then adding two key touchdowns in the second half, visiting Phillips Exeter Academy earned a tough 36-27 win over Brunswick, improving its record to 6-0 overall and 5-0 against Northeast Prep competition. The Bruins’ record is 6-1 overall and 5-1 in the Northeast Prep.
“It was a great game, they’re a well-coached football team, they’re tough, they’re physical,” Brunswick coach Wayne McGillicuddy said. “Today, they were the better football team. We knew they’re big, they’re physical, they play hard-nosed football, it’s what we prepared for. We made a couple of adjustments and they kept making theirs and it was a great game of chess.”
A lengthy drive behind the running of senior Zay Smith and sophomore Noah Park ignited Brunswick’s 7-play scoring march on the game’s opening possession in which the Bruins took a 7-0 lead. Phillip Exeter’s first drive stalled thanks to a sack by Brunswick senior captain/defensive lineman EJ Perez.
On the Bruins’ second possession of the game, senior quarterback/captain Blake Hebert threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Tyler Lloyd. Senior placekicker Oliver Reynolds converted the ensuing PAT, putting the host Bruins ahead, 14-0.
Exeter had an impressive response to being in a 14-0 hole, however. Running back JJ Bright took a handoff around the left side and dashed 54 yards for a touchdown, cutting the Bruins’ lead to 14-7.
With this exciting Northeast Prep matchup still in the first quarter, Big Red tied the score at 14-14. Running back Myles Craddock broke loose for a 70-yard touchdown run, evening the score. Phillips Exeter seized a 22-14 second-quarter lead when quarterback Preston Otter threw a 19-yard touchdown to Isaiah Reese. Otter reached the end zone on a run on the ensuing 2-point conversion attempt, making it 22-14.
Park used his speed to dash 37-yards for a touchdown run down the left sideline with 1:56 remaining in the second quarter, bringing Brunswick to within 22-20 of the Big Red.
“We’ve had a couple of injuries in the backfield and he had to step up,” McGillicuddy said of Park’s role in the backfield. “We’re using him and Jaylen Noisette in multiple roles and trying to put the ball in our athletes’ hands.”
“They both have great speed and we want the ball in their hands,” McGillicuddy continued. “It helped us.”
Otter gave the visitors a 29-21 edge, escaping from ‘Wick’s defense for a 26-yard touchdown run with 8:16 left in the third quarter. With 4:57 remaining in the fourth quarter, Craddock capped a time-consuming 99-yard drive with an 11-yard scoring run, giving Exeter a 36-21 lead.
The Bruins nearly made it a one-score game however. With Brunswick facing a 4-and-21 situation, Park scored on a spectacular 70-yard touchdown reception off a well-placed Hebert pass, cutting Exeter’s advantage to 36-27. The hosts were unable to convert the ensuing two-point conversion attempt with 3:41 left to play.
Brunswick hopes to get right back on the winning track when it visits Trinity-Pawling School on Nov. 2 at 6 p.m.
“We have to keep our heads up and we have to focus on Trinity-Pawling,” McGillicuddy said. “This was a great prep football game, back-and-forth. They’re a high-powered offense and they have a phenomenal defense with multiple fronts.”
“Trinity-Pawling is a blue collar team, they’re hard-nosed,” McGillicuddy continued. ‘They played Avon, they played Choate, they played Taft, they’re a tough football team.”
