SACO- It could not have been a more perfect afternoon for Thornton Academy students, past and present, to celebrate Alumni weekend and the school’s 200th year in existence on Saturday. Although the fans turned out in droves to support their hometown Trojans, Scarborough fans also had reasons to celebrate: one being the return of senior running back Scott Thibeault. Though in the end, it was Thornton celebrating the 28-14 win.
Thibeault, in his return from a back injury, made his presence felt early. With seven minutes and change left in the first quarter, he received a pitch to the left and proceeded to burst through the line en route to a 37-yard touchdown run. At the time, Thibeault’s touchdown gallop catapulted the underdog Red Storm (2-4) to an early 7-0 lead following the extra point.
Thornton however was resilient throughout the game. On their ensuing drive, the Trojans used a steady dose of power running from Nick Kenney and Andrew Libby to march into Red Storm territory. Once within striking distance, quarterback Eric Christensen hooked up tight end David Tarbox for a 39-yard touchdown to tie the score following a successful extra point.
Scarborough seemed to feed off of the return of Thibeault as they marched into Trojan territory following a pass interference call with two minutes remaining in the half. Quarterback Ben Greenberg proceeded to hook up with Charlie Raybine for a 10-yard score to give the Red Storm a 14-7 lead. The lead would hold until halftime.
The second half, much to the despair of the Red Storm, proved to be a different story than the first.
Seemingly feeding off of the standing-room-only Thornton Academy section they were able to stop the Storm on their first possession of the second then proceed to matriculate down the field into Scarborough territory. Once inside the 10-yard line Andrew Libby took a direct snap from the shotgun and busted through a vacant gap in the line and marched into the end zone to tie the score at 14-14.
The Trojans were able to force a Red Storm punt on their next possession. Scarborough was never in the game from that point on.
On their ensuing possession, Trojan quarterback Eric Christensen was again able to hook-up with Tarbox, this time from 25 yards to give the Trojans a 21-14 lead they would not relinquish.
Christensen would provide the Trojans with some insurance late in the 4th on a quarterback draw up the middle to stretch the lead to 14. Tarbox, who had already had an excellent day offensively, added a late interception to seal the game for the Trojans.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
