When the Brunswick School football team hosted rival Salisbury School in 2022 it scored 49 points in a one-sided victory and Friday night the Bruins lit the scoreboard for the exact amount of points before their fans at Cosby Field.

And, indeed, the Bruins rolled to another convincing win over the Crimson Knights.

Powered by four touchdown passes from senior quarterback Elijah Cromartie, Brunswick scored 35 first-half points on its way to recording a resounding 49-21 victory in a Northeast Prep league game.

The win evened the Bruins’ record at 1-1. Brunswick opened its 2023 season with a tough 20-16 road loss against Northeast Prep opponent Cheshire Academy on Sept. 15.

“The offense was clicking,” Cromartie said. “There are definitely some things to work on, but I feel like we definitely improved from the first week. We were flowing as a unit. The objective was to find who we are and keep pushing and we did just that.”

Senior running back Bryce Davis ignited the Bruins’ ground game, rushing for 173 yards and one touchdown.

“We had a nice balance,” Davis said. “We were throwing the ball over their heads and we ran the ball well in the second half, so it was a good mix of things.”

In the majority of the previous meetings between the Bruins and Salisbury, the games were tight, yet like last season, Brunswick left nothing to chance during Friday night’s game at Cosby Field. On Brunswick’s first drive of the game, Cromartie connected with sophomore wide receiver Matt Colella for a 6-yard touchdown pass.

Salisbury tied the score at 7-7, reaching the end zone on its first possession on a 10-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Austin Luzzi. Yet the Bruins seized control of this matchup thereafter.

On the ensuing kickoff, Bruins senior captain Hudson Hausmann showcased his speed, returning the kick 80 yards for a touchdown. Junior kicker Oliver Reynolds converted the point-after attempt, putting the home team on top, 14-7.

Holding a seven-point advantage following the first quarter, the Bruins extended their lead. Cromartie threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to junior wideout Tyler Lloyd, who created separation down the right sideline. The score gave the Bruins a 21-7 lead with 11 seconds into the second quarter.

Brunswick’s offense continued to flourish in the first half. The Bruins scored again on their next possession, with Cromartie connecting with Fels for a 46-yard touchdown pass with 9:24 still left in the second quarter. Cromartie had an excellent game, completing 11 of 15 passes for 270 yards.

“He (Cromartie) called the play and I knew it was coming my way,” Fels said of his first TD reception. “I was a little nervous when the ball was thrown, but I trust Eli and I trust my team and it worked out.”

The visitors closed to within 28-14 on senior Bailey Coleman’s 7-yard touchdown catch at the 4:41 mark of the second quarter. However, the Bruins quickly regained their three-score lead. The elusive Fels dashed into the end zone again, this time catching a screen pass from Cromartie and running 58 yards for a touchdown. Another PAT by Reynolds made it 35-14 Bruins with 2:06 to go in the opening half.

“A great block from Tyler Lloyd, set me up perfectly for the touchdown,” Fels said of his TD off the screen pass.

In the second half, Davis scored on a 3-yard run and junior Patrick Hiebert reached the end zone on a running play for the Bruins (1-1), coached by Wayne McGillicuddy.

Brunswick’s defensive unit was stellar throughout against its Northeast Prep foe. Junior defensive back Ethan Long intercepted a pass in the first half and captain EJ Perez, a defensive lineman, had several tackles resulting in lost yardage for the Bruins.

Senior captain/offensive lineman Jadon Lafontant and junior captain/offensive tackle Matty Augustine helped spearhead the offensive line’s outstanding effort.

“We passed the ball really well obviously,” the 6-foot-7, 290-pound Augustine said. “We moved the ball, we had some mistakes, but we’ll fix that and we’ll bring it next week. It was a special win in our home-opener. We are still thinking about Cheshire, because we had that game, so this one meant a lot.”

Said Lafontant: “I think we did really good, we took a big step forward from last week. We all had a lot of enthusiasm. I was locked in for this game since I got the schedule. Last year, we lost one game at the beginning of the season and just kept on going and we want to do the same thing this year.”

The Bruins players on offense certainly appreciate their linemen’s efforts up front.

“The offensive line did great, I had all day, I could have eaten a sandwich back there,” Cromartie said with a smile.

“The offensive line is always going to come and block for me,” Davis noted. “Especially in the second half, we ran the ball really well. We emphasized to keep running the ball and demoralize this team and we did that and came out with the win.”

The Bruins will look to make it two wins in a row when they host Deerfield Academy Saturday at 5 p.m. Deerfield has a record of 2-0.

“Deerfield, they’re great, they have a good quarterback,” Cromartie said. “We are looking to neutralize him. As far as the offense, we just need to do what we did today – control the line of scrimmage and just do what we’ve been doing.”