The expectations were high. The challenge was clear.

In preseason, Brunswick football coach Dick Leavitt told his starting fullback Phillip Warren that he should win the Fitzpatrick Trophy five months hence.

Leavitt did this knowing Warren had already accepted a challenge from his coach at the end of the previous season. Leavitt told Warren if the Dragons were going to compete for the Pine Tree Conference title, he would have to be their ticket there. That meant getting into the best shape of his life.

Leavitt saw at the beginning of training camp that Warren had heeded his advice.

“He got himself into exceptional physical condition, and it was fun to watch him run,” Leavitt said.

His hard work and dedication during the off-season produced resounding results this past fall, results which have earned Warren a spot among the finalists for the Fitzpatrick Trophy and the 2003 Sun Journal Player of the Year.

After back-to-back 0-8 seasons his first two years, Brunswick was coming off a promising 3-5 season Warren’s junior year. With a talented senior nucleus, the Dragons thought they had a chance to compete in the Pine Tree Conference. As a group, they concluded their success on the field would be determined by their commitment off of it.

“I just wanted to be a part of change,” Warren said. “Everyone on our team just went into the weight room and cardiovascular training and dedicated ourselves to this season.”

The 6-2, 240 pound running back worked on his strength in the weight room and his conditioning in summer basketball. This season, he served as the ultimate example of what such dedication can accomplish.

After posting more than 700 yards rushing his junior campaign, Warren ran around, over and through defenses for 2,005 yards and 25 touchdowns, both school records. He picked up many of those yards and scores against defenses who quickly wore down trying to contain him. For instance, his longest run of the season, a 99-yard TD jaunt against Edward Little, came in the fourth quarter.

“A lot of his big runs came late in the game,” Leavitt said. “A year ago, he wouldn’t have been able to make those runs because of fatigue.”

It didn’t take long for Warren and his teammates to see how the time they put in over the summer would pay off.

“We noticed the difference in our first game, even though we lost 21-0 (to Gardiner),” Warren said. “Then the next week, we beat Thornton Academy, and that gave us confidence knowing we can win.”

The win over Thornton Academy served as the springboard for a 10-game winning streak. Warren dominated during the early stretch of that streak, rushing for more than 200 yards in three of the next four games, including a 275-yard performance in the Dragons’ comeback win over Edward Little. He scored four and five touchdowns against Windham and Oxford Hills, respectively.

As word got out of Warren’s exploits, the opposition began keying on him. Yet the Dragons went on to win their first Eastern Maine Class A championship, with Warren scoring four touchdowns in their playoff wins over Gardiner and Bangor. Deering finally ended Brunswick’s run in the state championship game, due in large part to a defense designed to take away the big fullback’s cutback capabilities.

While Warren’s physical stature made him an imposing runner for tacklers to bring down, Leavitt believes it was his great vision and ability to cut back against the grain that allowed him to make defenses pay for overpursuing or trying to gang-tackle him. Because of his ability and his breakaway speed, many of his best runs didn’t come at the initial point of attack.

Leavitt believes Warren’s combination of speed, size and power hasn’t been matched since Jeremy Tardiff dominated the PTC for Oxford Hills 10 years ago. The coach doubts he’ll ever see anything like it again.

“The ability to take over a ballgame, like he did against Edward Little, I don’t think I’ll be able to replace that,” he said.

Warren was surprised by how prolific he was this season. Deep down, though, he knew all he needed was a challenge.

“I knew I would have a decent season, but I didn’t think I’d have the numbers I did,” he said. “But, I knew if I had an opportunity, I would get it done.”

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