SACO — Ever the educator, Kevin Kezal is always looking for a life’s lesson to impart.
Kezal, Thornton Academy’s Dean of Students by day and its football coach by night, found one back on Oct. 2, when Deering handed his Golden Trojans a 35-6 thumping.
The two school’s will meet again, tonight, in a Western Maine Class A quarterfinal contest, and Kezal is hoping that the Trojans will wring something positive out of that earlier humbling.
“Hopefully we’ll use it as a learning tool,” Kezal said. “Look and see what (we) did wrong. Try to improve.”
One area of improvement ”“ at least from that earlier performance ”“ would be to contain the high-powered Rams attack.
Deering torched the Trojan defense with long gainers, two of which resulted in first quarter touchdowns.
Thornton (6-2) never recovered from the shock of seeing wideout John Hardy streaking downfield from Jamie Ross passes.
“Early in that first quarter,” recounted Kezal. “We gave up two huge plays.”
According to Kezal, one way to counter the big strike is to make the Rams settle for short-yardage, clock grinding plays.
“Our goal is to make them go on 10-12 play drives,” he said. “Make them earn it, rather than let them go up top. It’s easier said than done.”
Kezal said he is particularly wary of letting Ross, who can beat teams with his arms and his legs, call the tune.
“He’s dynamite,” said Kezal. “We’ve seen him for three years now. He throws the ball well. He runs well. He’s a big, physical kid, and he’s smart. He’s tough to defend.”
He said that the Trojan defense is likely to have its hands full trying to contain him.
“We’ve got to find ways to stop them,” said Kezal. “Whether it’s three and outs, or turnovers, or whatever. We’ve got to find ways of getting off the field, defensively.”
That would seem to put more onus on the Thornton offense ”“ led by senior quarterback Josh Woodward ”“ to keep the football, and the chains, moving ahead.
“The best defense is a good offense,” said Kezal. “We put a lot of (responsibility) on our quarterback. Our quarterbacks have to play well if we’re going to win. Josh knows that. We’ve gotten great play from him. We’re happpy with the way he plays. If the whole team plays like that, we’ll have an opportunity.”
— Contact Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com.
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