PORTLAND — It would be hard to calculate this season’s high points reached by the Thornton Academy football squad.
There have been so many to count.
But putting a finger on the low point would be easy.
That would be the final five minutes or so of the first half of the 56-18 rout the No. 6 Golden Trojans suffered at the hands of No. 3 Deering, in a Western Maine Class A quarterfinal at Memorial Field, Friday.
In that span, the Trojans saw a 12-12 deadlock disintegrate into a 28-12 halftime deficit.
Of greater concern to all was the condition of Thornton wide receiver James Ek, who was injured with 16.6 seconds remaining in the half.
Ek, who was tackled hard by Deering’s Renaldo Lowry while attempting to make a leaping catch, lay motionless on the field for several minutes, and was taken from the field in an ambulance.
Initial reports indicated that Ek was badly shaken, but was not injured seriously.
“We’re concerned about him,” said Thornton coach Kevin Kezal. “But our training staff thought that things would be alright.”
Earlier, Thornton matched Deering, score for score.
Its first came on an 11-yard toss from Josh Woodward to Dimitri Skinsacos that made it 6-6 with 9:24 gone in the first quarter.
The second came early in the second stanza, after a short Deering punt gave the Trojans the ball on the Ram 37.
Four plays later Woodward ran 14 yards for the tying score.
“I thought if we played a good game, we’d have a shot,” said Kezal.
Soon after, the wheels came off.
The Trojans committed three crucial turnovers ”“ all fumbles ”“ in the final 5:05 of the half.
All of them led to Deering points, beginning with a 21 yard field goal by quarterback/kicker Jamie Ross, that made it 15-12.
In short order, Deering cashed in two more miscues for a 45 yard TD from Ross to John Hardy and a 1 yard plunge by Ross.
“That killed us,” said Kezal. “You give up 12 points in two and half minutes ”¦ you can’t do it, and expect to win.”
After taking the second half kickoff, the Trojans made a plucky attempt to rally around the fallen Ek,
Woodward marched them downfield 75 yards on eight plays, with Andrew Libby accounting for the final two on a dive into the end zone.
“You’ve got to give our kids credit,” said Kezal. “They came out and played hard in the second half. They scored right off, which was nice. But we screwed up on special teams, which was the story of our year.”
Special teams and turnovers.
Deering scored four unanswered touchdowns ”“ two on runs by Ross ”“ with turnovers accounting for two of them.
For Thornton, it was a most undesirable end to a season that began with four straight wins, and had held so much promise.
Then came Week 5, and a 35-6 loss at home to Deering, which, as it turns out, started the Trojans down a slippery slope.
“We knew it was going to be a work in progress, this year,” said Kezal. “We didn’t have a lot of returning players. We lost a lot of good players from last year. But I’m really proud of these seniors. They gave us great leadership. They came a long way. Not just as football players, but as young men.”
— Contact Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com.
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