SACO – There was smoke, there was fire. There were two quick touchdowns, a 7-7 tie. It looked like the Western Maine Class A semifinal football game between the visiting, third-ranked Scarborough Red Storm and the second-ranked Thornton Academy Golden Trojans was going to be a barn-burner.

Then came signs that it was Scarborough’s season about to go up in flames, as TA roared away to a 49-14 win and a rematch with top-ranked Cheverus next Saturday in the Western Maine Class A championship.

After Scarborough went three and out on their first drive, TA took to the air on their first play from scrimmage. Eric Christensen found Dylan Morton very wide open downfield for a 40-yard catch-and-run touchdown. TA senior kicker Brandon Briggs hit the extra point, and then, as he did almost all afternoon, kicked off into the end zone for a touchback, starting the Red Storm at the 20-yard line, 80 yards from paydirt.

Which turned out to not be a problem. On their first play of the drive, Red Storm QB Dylan Russo dropped back, found Merrick Madden just as wide open in about the same place that Morton was a few minutes before. Madden tucked the ball under his arm and went all 80 yards untouched into the end zone, 7-7.

After the kickoff, TA quickly marched downfield, Christensen, Cody Lynn and Andrew Libby moving the ball. Libby looked like he finished the drive with a 7-yard run off a direct snap, but it was called back on a penalty. He got in a few yards later on a short pass from Christensen, 13-7.

Scarborough got the ball back, again on their 20. On third down, Russo hit a wide open Andrew Libby in the middle of the field. If you’re paying attention, you realize that’s not a good thing, not a reception but an interception, as they are on opposite teams. Libby took the ball to the 8-yard line, then ran it into the end zone on the next play to finish what he started, 19-7.

Next to score was TA’s Cody Lynn, a 52-yard catch and run with a Briggs PAT, 26-7. Then came Eric Christensen’s 1-yard run for the TD and a Libby run for the two-point conversion, 34-7.

Christensen had another 1-yard plunge in the final minute of the first half, followed by another Libby conversion for a 42-7 lead at halftime.

TA wrapped up their scoring for the afternoon with just under four minutes to play in the third quarter when Alex Rizeakos ran 13 yards around the right end to make the score 49-7.

Scarborough’s final score came halfway through the final quarter. After recovering a TA fumble, the Red Storm marched down to inside the 1-yard line, from where Dan LeClair took a pitch and ran around the right end into the end zone to end the scoring at 49-14.

TA receiver Dakota Tarbox just about wore out the mask on Merrick Madden’s helmet, straight-arming the Red Storm defensive back on a couple of pass receptions.
Senior TA kicker Brandon Briggs kept the Red Storm deep in their own territory on most of his kickoffs during the game.
Scarborough’s Ben Greenberg pulls in a 26-yard pass reception for the final play of the first quarter.
Dylan Morton swats away a pass intended for Ben Greenberg in the first quarter.
Almost untouched, Alex Rizeakos runs 13 yards around the right end for TA’s final touchdown to make the score 49-7.
Dylan Morton probably cannot believe how wide open he is as he hauls in a Christensen pass on TA’s first play from scrimmage and heads into the endzone.
Scarborough wasted no time in getting even after Morton’s long TD. Merrick Madden hauled in a five-yard pass at the 25-yard line and raced untouched the final 75 yards to even the score, 7-7.
Eric Christensen picks up a first down on a keeper play.
Andrew Libby is already in the endzone when he pulls in a pass from Christensen to make the score 13-7 halfway through the first quarter.
Another long catch and run for a TA touchdown, this time Cody Lynn goes 52 yards to score, 25-7.
Tarbox again with the straight arm.
Andrew Libby hurdles his offensive lineman, David LaPauloue, to pick up first-down yardage.
Nick Kenney got a break when Andrew Libby fell on his fumble here in the first half. Another fumble in the fourth quarter led to Scarborough’s second touchdown.
Mark your calendar: 21-month-old TA fan Bruno Gallant could be wrapping up his own varsity career in November 2029 or so. Hopefully they find him a better helmet by then.

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