SACO — Heading into Saturday’s Class A South football semifinal, Sanford coach Mike Fallon talked about having to “pick your poison” against powerhouse Thornton Academy.
The last time these two teams met, TA junior running back Isaac Ofielu did most of the damage for the Trojans, who rolled to a win over the Spartans in the regular-season finale.
Sanford was able to hold Ofielu in check in Saturday’s regional semifinal, but junior quarterback Kobe Gaudette and senior wide receiver Anthony Bracamonte picked up the slack. The duo would connect for two scores and Bracamonte ran for another as Thornton Academy rolled to a 47-7 win at Hill Stadium.
The No. 1 Golden Trojans (10-0) scored 40 unanswered points to put away the No. 4 Spartans and earn a trip to the regional final against No. 2 Scarborough. The Class A South title game will be held at Hill Stadium in Saco on Saturday. The game is set for a 1 p.m. start.
Bracamonte had a big day as he ran the ball 13 times for 142 yards and one score. The speedy wide receiver also hauled in three passes for 74 yards and two scores. Gaudette went 6 of 14 through the air for 133 yards and three scores.
“I guess it’s kind of like pick what you want to stop. If you want to send the whole defense to stop one guy, like I said in the beginning of the season, we have so many weapons that we can hurt you with,” said Bracamonte.
“All week in practice they probably worked on shutting down Isaac, so having a good running back just kind of opens up everything else,” added Gaudette.
It wasn’t a great start for Sanford as on the first play of the game the Spartans fumbled the handoff and Thornton’s Grant Dow recovered at the 33.
It didn’t take TA too long to make the Spartans pay as Gaudette found Bracamonte in the end zone for a 22-yard score just four plays later. Brady Forbes nailed the extra point to make it 7-0 with 9:16 left in the first.
The Trojans would return the favor on their next drive as they fumbled and Sanford’s Carson Bickford recovered at the Spartans’ 43.
Just two plays later, Sanford QB Xavier Levine hit Caleb Saucier on a 54-yard touchdown pass to tie things up at 7-7 with 4:49 remaining in the first.
“We come out and fumble the ball on the first snap of the game, but we responded really well to that. We kind of hung in there and kept digging,” said Fallon.
Sanford tried to get the ball right back with an onside kick, but TA would recover at the Trojans’ 49.
Thornton drove the ball down to the Sanford 19, but the drive would stall and the Trojans faced a fourth-and-16 from the 19. The tough situation didn’t faze Gaudette as the junior dropped back and hit Bracamonte for a 19-yard TD to make it 14-7.
The play that really changed the complexion of the game came on the very last play of the opening quarter when Levine scampered for a 13-yard run for a first down.
Unfortunately for the Spartans, that would be the last play of the game for the talented QB as he left with an injury.
“We knew we were playing a tremendous team and then we lose our quarterback early in the game. Obviously that immediately kind of spoils the gameplan,” said Fallon.
The Trojans would really take over from that point.
Gaudette hit Payton Jones for a 45-yard touchdown with 8:18 left in the half.
Later in the half, a 37-yard run from Bracamonte set the Trojans up at the Sanford 4-yard line — and Tommy Palmer finished things off with a touchdown run to make it 27-7 at the break.
“I think we just had to grind it out. It’s playoff football where everything’s going to be a little tighter and you’re going to have to grind a little bit more. We got that lead and they came right back and scored, but from that point on I thought we played really well and kind of took control of the game at half. I’m really proud of the effort,” said Thornton Academy coach Kevin Kezal.
Thornton Academy started the second half with an impressive 11-play drive down to the 8, and Forbes nailed a 25-yard field goal to make it 30-7.
Bracamonte added a 17-yard touchdown run with 1:40 left in the third, and sophomore wide receiver Gabe Older scored on a 9-yard run midway through the fourth. The Trojans would add a safety later in the fourth to secure the 47-7 win.
Fallon was certainly impressed with Thornton Academy, but the longtime Sanford coach was also proud of his team.
“They are just in another place compared to us right now. Obviously we need to do some things to try to get to their level, but I can’t say enough about my kids,” said Fallon, who saw his players fight through some adversity to have a solid 2018 campaign. “The resilience they’ve shown through the most injuries we’ve ever dealt with in a season. We’ve had injuries, we lose a kid to mono two weeks ago — the list is ridiculous, but our kids managed to keep competing and showed resilience all year long. I’m proud of the kids.”
Fallon praised his senior group for keeping the Spartans together despite starting the season with two straight losses.
“Our senior class is just full of gritty kids. I tell you what, their leadership has been phenomenal,” Fallon said. “We didn’t get off to a great start at the beginning of the season, but they really stepped up and led our younger kids and taught them a lot about resiliency and managed to come away with a pretty competitive football season.”
The unbeaten Trojans now turn their focus to rival Scarborough, which dominated TA in last year’s regional final. Despite beating the Red Storm 35-13 earlier in the season, the Trojans know this is a new season.
“That game a couple weeks ago doesn’t mean anything. Points can’t transfer to a game, so we’re just going to focus on getting better this week and playing our best football against them,” Bracamonte said.
Bracamonte and the rest of the TA seniors will have a chance to finish their Hill Stadium careers on a high note.
“I’m just going to soak it all in and make sure we come out on top. I don’t want to lose my last game here,” said Bracamonte.
— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 780-9017. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.

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