Despite a two-touchdown day for QB Zack Brannon and exceptional team defense, the No. 3 Scots couldn’t quite handle first-ranked Thornton in Saturday, Nov. 14th’s A South Regional Final.
Oh, Bonny Eagle hung with the Trojans – went blow-for-blow with the reigning State Champs on their home turf – through the first half, and the score stood tied at the break; TA found their edge in the later quarters, though, ultimately pulling away for a 24-14 W.
It was a much tighter tango than the squads’ first dance, at the end of the regular season, which Thornton took 45-21. Clearly, Bonny Eagle wanted to prove to themselves – and the 1,200 spectators in attendance, perhaps – that they were a match for the powerhouse Trojans.
“Our guys were just a little bit more determined,” said Bonny Eagle head coach Kevin Cooper. “We weren’t happy with how we played here last time, we didn’t think it was our best effort. We kind of just said, this week, ‘What the heck. We’re just going to go out and do the best job we can.’”
Both teams showed off their defensive prowess to begin the game: TA forced a punt on the Scots’ opening drive, but Bonny Eagle stymied the Trojans in return on their follow-up series, thwarting them on fourth and 1.
“The biggest thing about the first game, we didn’t think our defense played very well,” said Cooper. “We wanted to rectify that. That was probably the biggest difference.”
A mere two snaps into Bonny Eagle’s next possession, the team bared its offensive teeth as well. Brannon, on second and 9 at his own 23, broke through the middle of the Trojans’ secondary and plummeted the length of the field for six points. Fellow Scot Christian Napolitano added the extra point for 7-0.
Napolitano’s kickoff, directly into heavy winds, left TA with great field position – first and 10 at their own 43. From there, they chipped away to the Scots’ 22, where QB Austin McCrum seized control of the action, shucking would-be tacklers as he dashed up the left-middle, all the way to Bonny Eagle’s end zone. Cameron Cadorette nailed the PAT for 7-7.
One critical opportunity eluded Bonny Eagle midway through the second, when Cam Day ran a beautiful, juking route to the TA 12. He would’ve earned first and 10, but his tackler, Trojan Rome Pura, brought him down from behind, in the process knocking the ball from the crook of his arm. TA recovered the fumble, snuffing a strong Scots scoring chance.
“It was a great play by [Pura],” Cooper said. “If things had gone differently, we think we would’ve scored there and gone into halftime ahead.”
Even when Bonny Eagle’s Cam Theberge hauled in an INT at the Trojans’ 27 – McCrum had tried to pitch into those thick winds, which slowed up the ball enough for Theberge to sneak up on it – no score ultimately resulted. 7-7 at the break.
“We really thought we [outplayed Thornton in the first half],” said Cooper. “We felt really good at halftime, it being 7-7. But give credit to TA; that’s one of the reasons why they’re the defending champs, one of the reasons why pretty much everybody thinks they’ve got a great shot at winning the gold ball.”
TA captured a spectacular TD of their own early in the third, when Greg Ruff broke away, up the right sideline, for 62-yards and 14-7. A couple possessions later, the Scots responded: Brannon nailed Eben Cram with a long-bomb up the middle, before himself spinning through the middle and into Trojans holy ground. 14-14.
“I thought we made one bad play on the long run by Ruff,” Cooper said. “That was really the difference.”
But the remainder of the offense belong to TA. The wind at his back, Cadorette contributed an easy 39-yard field goal in the early fourth, and Owen Elliot tacked on a one-yard rush TD a few minutes later. 24-14.
Stuck driving into the wind, Bonny Eagle’s last few series, peppered with desperate pass attempts, were an uphill battle, one which TA capably rebuffed.
The Scots retire till 2016 at 7-4. TA jumps to 9-1, and advances to Saturday the 21st’s Class A Final vs. Kings-in-the-North Portland, who dispatched Windham 24-7 on Friday night, the 13th.
“Our kids were just great,” Cooper said of the season as a whole. “They rose up and met every challenge that we put in front of them. I don’t think anybody in the state would’ve thought it would be 14-14, early in the fourth quarter of this game.”
The Scots, including Nick Clark (26), line up for a kickoff against TA on Saturday afternoon.
Bonny Eagle’s Cam Theberge drags TA running back Greg Ruff out of bounds on Saturday afternoon.
Cam Day carries for the Scots at TA on Saturday afternoon.
Bonny Eagle’s Eben Cram crashes into TA’s Greg Ruff on the run Saturday afternoon.
TA’s Owen Elliot gets a hand on the face of Scot Wiley Hollen as he charges in for the block on Saturday.
Zach Klein plunges into the fray at TA on Saturday.
Nick Clark escapes TA’s Owen Elliot on a Bonny Eagle carry.
Eben Cram goes up to pull in a beautiful long-bomb from QB Zack Brannon. Brannon would score later in the drive.
Bonny Eaglers – including Parker Gammon (50) and Zack Brannon (8) – celebrate Brannon’s second TD of the game at TA on Saturday.
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