Brunswick School’s football team’s 2023 season began with a loss against Northeast Prep League rival Cheshire Academy, so besides Friday night’s game being the season-opener, the Bruins had extra motivation when Cheshire Academy visited Cosby Field.

The results indeed, indicated how psyched up the Bruins were for their 2024 debut, excelling on both ends of the field, much to the dismay of the Cats.

Scoring 16 points in the final two minutes of the first half, Brunswick took plenty of momentum into halftime and kept it, rolling to a resounding 30-0 win before a big, enthusiastic crowd under the Cosby Field lights.

“To start the season 1-0 against a great team that beat us last season is a great feeling,” said Brunswick senior offensive tackle Matty Augustine, one of the Bruins’ captains.

Making his Brunswick football debut, senior quarterback/captain Blake Hebert threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score. Hebert has committed to play football at Clemson University. He transferred to Brunswick from Massachusetts-based Central Catholic.

“It feels great, that was a great team win,” the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Hebert said. “The O-line blocked up front incredibly. There’s a lot of stuff that we want to clean up, but right now it feels great. Overall, right now, it feels really good.”

Cheshire Academy quarterback Keegan Croucher was hard pressed to throw and run the ball due to Brunswick’s stingy, hard-hitting defense.

“Our defense is really good, we had a lot of three-and-outs,” said Bruins senior defensive lineman Jaylen Pray, who helped anchor the defensive unit.

Said EJ Perez, a team captain, who also provided outstanding play on the Bruins’ defensive line: “The defense played amazing, we forced turnovers we did exactly what we needed to do. We got off the field, we got the offense the ball. This is a great way to start the season.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Brunswick used a three-minute scoring surge to open a 16-point lead. Behind the punishing running out of the backfield from senior Patrick Hiebert, the Bruins moved the ball down the field, picking up several first downs.

Hiebert capped the long scoring drive with a 3-yard run with 3:03 remaining in the second quarter. Senior Oliver Reynolds kicked the extra point, giving the Bruins a 7-0 lead on Cheshire.

“The beginning of the year is always tough, you’re going to see things you weren’t ready for,” Bruins coach Wayne McGillicuddy said. “The first quarter didn’t go as planned but we kept telling the O-line that we may have to lean on you we got some of the jitters out and leaned on them.”

The Notre Dame-bound Augustine, senior Owen Swenson, junior Sean Bernsten, senior Sam Barsanti and junior Rowan Ahrens were among some of the offensive linemen that provided a significant push up front for the Bruins’ running game. They also provided a lot of protection for Hebert, giving him time to pass.

“I feel that the O-line figured out to win this game we would have to run the ball and that’s what we did,” the 6-7 Augustine said. “We started to run the ball and started moving their guys back, it was good.”

Following Hiebert’s touchdown run, Brunswick recovered a Cheshire Academy fumble on the ensuing kickoff, taking over at the 14-yard line. Several plays later, Hiebert took Hebert’s handoff, found a hole that was created by the offensive line and scored on a 5-yard run. Reynolds again split the uprights with the PAT, putting the Bruins on top, 14-0 with 2:12 left in the second quarter.

Cheshire began its next possession on its own 2-yard line and the Bruins promptly added to their advantage. Senior lineman Henry Johnson tackled a Cats running back in the end zone, resulting in a safety, upping Brunswick’s lead to 16-0 at the two-minute mark of the second quarter.

“We were solid all over the field, tackling and we executed and communicated so well,” Johnson said. “I’m really proud of our guys.”

“The defense played really well, they flew around and tackled really well,” McGillicuddy noted. “All credit to Sean Stanley, our defensive coordinator. He gets those guys ready to play and he had those guys fired up.”

The Cats, who defeated the Bruins in 2023, 20-14, couldn’t get into rhythm offensively throughout thanks to Brunswick’s impressive defense.

“They have a lot of weapons and a lot of guys that can stretch the field,” said Perez, who will play at Brown University next season. “We forced turnovers and it turned out to be a good performance.”

One of the highlights of the game occurred with 8:32 remaining in the third quarter. Receiving time to throw, Hebert dropped back to pass and connected with junior wide receiver Matt Colella for a 50-plus yard touchdown, giving the Bruins a commanding 23-0 lead.

“I wouldn’t have been able to get that out without them up front,” Hebert said, referring to the offensive line. “That was completely attributed to the O-line and Matt Colella getting open.”

Hebert also appreciated how well the team’s ground game functioned.

“They were giving us runs so we ran it and we took what they give us,” Hebert noted. “It kind of lit a fire under us. They (the offensive line) were amazing, they won us the game, they put up 30 on the board, that was all them.”

Said McGillicuddy on Hebert’s first game as Brunswick’s quarterback: “I thought Blake handled it really well, it was the first time that he played football in over a year. He came out, he got the jitters out, he had a nice little touchdown run to get the jitters out early. He made some really nice throws.”

“He did a great job, he’s been a great leader since he’s stepped foot on campus,” Pray said of Hebert. “We’re very glad to have him.”

Senior Notre Dame-bound safety Ethan Long intercepted a Cheshire Academy pass early in the fourth quarter, setting up Brunswick’s final score. Zay Smith, a senior running back, dashed into the end zone on a 5-yard run, making it 30-0 with 10:02 to go in the fourth quarter.

“I was reading the quarterback and when he threw it, I just jumped it and I was blessed by God to catch it,” Long said of his interception. “I couldn’t be prouder of the guys. We’re young, we have a lot of new guys here and they worked hard during the preseason all summer. Ever since last year, we didn’t like the way it ended and we came out today and just flew around.”

“We knew what they were going to run and we played with heart,” Long continued. “We were talking about it all game, as long as the defense was flying around, we were going to make plays.”

Up next for the Bruins is a Northeast Prep matchup against Salisbury on the road on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

“We’re looking forward to it, we’re going to have a great week of practice like this week, we’re going to grind just as hard and give it our best effort,” Johnson said.

“It’s another test, we have to go up there in a hectic environment,” McGillicuddy said. “We are going to be prepared.”