Two seasons ago, Brunswick School’s football team captured its 10th NEPSAC bowl championship by defeating postseason rival Choate Rosemary Hall in the Mike Silipo Bowl and the Bruins were in prime position to win another postseason title game when the teams met on Nov. 16, as they faced just a four-point deficit in the final quarter.

Yet the Wild Boars finished this all-important matchup before a standing-room only crowd strong and finished off the Bruins.

Scoring 14 fourth-quarter points, host Choate Rosemary Hall earned an impressive 27-9 victory over Brunswick in the NEPSAC Leon Modeste Championship Bowl, capping a perfect 9-0 season. The Bruins, who were victorious against Choate in the 2022 Mike Silipo Bowl, finished its 2024 campaign with an 8-2 record.

“We knew coming in with 26 seniors, five of them who have been with the program for five years and three of them were three-year starters and two of them were two-year captains – so we knew it was a good group and probably one of the strongest groups, physically and mentally I’ve had,” Brunswick coach Wayne McGillicuddy said. “It was a great season.”

This physical matchup between the postseason rivals was scoreless after the first quarter and tied at 6-6 heading into halftime. Choate Rosemary Hall has won 18 consecutive games since its 2022 loss to Brunswick, including two 9-0 seasons. The Wild Boars led, 13-6, following three quarters of action, before pulling away midway through the fourth quarter.

“It feels amazing, a lot of hard work goes into the season,” said Choate Rosemary Hall coach L.J. Spinnato, who has guided the Wild Boars to eight NEPSAC championship bowl wins in his 10 seasons as coach. “It’s great to have the kids be victorious at a setting like this against a great team like that.”

Bruins senior placekicker Oliver Reynolds converted three field goals to account for Brunswick’s points. Brunswick moved the ball efficiently on several drives, but were held to three field goals for the game. Through their first nine games of the season, the Bruins scored 30 or more points eight times, each resulting in a win.

“They are tough, fast, physical, getting behind the sticks on first down hurt us,” McGillicuddy said. “It was tough getting back on track and that’s where we needed to be a little bit better. It was the little things that we needed to clean up.”

Trailing 13-6, Brunswick closed to within 13-9 on Reynolds’ 31-yard field goal with 9:51 remaining in the fourth quarter. A pass play of more than 30 yards from senior quarterback Blake Hebert to senior wide receiver Jaylen Noisette keyed the Bruins’ drive, which stalled at the Choate 14-yard line.

“To hold them to three field goals with an offense like that, an offensive line like that, a quarterback like that, receivers like they had – the boys played so hard and I couldn’t be prouder of the defense,” Spinnato said.

Following Reynolds’ third field goal, which made it a four-point game, Choate took possession and proceeded to reach the end zone. Senior Michael Dunmore escaped the Bruins’ defense for a 15-yard touchdown run. Marc Cappuccitti-Gutierrez kicked the extra point, increasing Choate Rosemary Hall’s advantage to 20-9 with 5:40 left to play in the final quarter.

Brunswick was stopped on downs on its next possession, enabling the Wild Boars to start their next scoring march.

“It starts with me and making sure we get the play calls in on time and giving our O-Line and quarterback enough time to communicate and see it,” McGillicuddy said of the offense.

Said Brunswick senior offensive tackle/captain Matty Augustine, who is one of three Bruins athletes who has committed to play football at Notre Dame: “We had a great week of practice and came out hard, Choate’s a very good team. We made a few mistakes, we had a bunch of chances. But we gave it our all and fought to the last second. We played a good game. Overall, it was a special season.”

Both squads only had one possession during a fast moving first quarter. The Wild Boars took their opening possession into the second quarter and ended it with a touchdown. Jeremiah Washington capped the time-consuming drive, reaching the end zone on a 7-yard run, putting Choate on top, 7-0 with 10:19 to go in the second quarter.

Moving the ball behind the running of senior Patrick Hiebert and senior Zay Smith, the Bruins responded with a 34-yard field goal by Reynolds at the 3:48 mark of the second quarter, cutting Choate’s edge to 6-3.

Brunswick senior safety Ethan Long, who will also continue his football career at Notre Dame, intercepted a pass from Choate senior quarterback Mustafa Mozawalla, setting the Bruins up in Wild Boars territory. On the final play of the first half, the reliable Reynolds showcased his strong leg, kicking a 47-yard field goal as time expired, knotting the score at 6-6 at halftime

Gaining possession first in the third quarter, the hosts took a 13-6 lead when Mozawalla threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Washington, who ran a wheel route, with 6:28 left. The victors also ran the ball effectively, with Dunmore leading the way and the offensive line paving the way.

“That’s a staple,” Spinnato said of his squad’s running game. “The offense line did an unbelievable job. We knew we were going to try to control the clock this game. It was an awesome team win.”

Long, senior linebacker Tyler Georgs, senior lineman EJ Perez and senior linebacker Henry Johnson were among some of the Bruins’ defensive standouts in this physical, intense NEPSAC championship bowl game.

Hebert, who is also going to play football at Notre Dame, Augustine, Georgs and Perez served as Brunswick’s captains.

“It was amazing, I couldn’t ask for anything else,” Hebert said of his one season with Brunswick. “Our guys, our coaching staff, everything was great. I thought we battled down to the last minute.”

“I know that each and everyone wearing a white jersey today will be back at it tomorrow,” Hebert continued. “They are going to do great things.”

McGillicuddy, whose Bruins improved from 5-4 in 2023 to 8-2 this fall, knows he had an outstanding group of senior athletes who meant so much to the program.

“The senior group means a lot to me,” McGillicuddy said. “The senior group was here for me when my dad passed. I’ve gotten really close with them and they mean the world to me.”

“To have leaders like we have and to have the guys that we have – having them around is what I’m going to miss,” he continued. “They are not just great football players, they are great people, they are great student-athletes.”