SACO — Bonny Eagle fell behind Thornton Academy by 24 points before finally getting on the scoreboard in the second quarter Saturday.
“Let’s get it back,” yelled Thornton Coach Kevin Kezal.
The Golden Trojans did, quickly.
The elusive Ben Lambert took the ensuing kick 90 yards for a touchdown and top-ranked Thornton Academy was well on its way to a 45-21 win in the regular-season finale.
“It gave us back the momentum,” Kezal said of Lambert’s return.
Thornton Academy (7-1), the defending Class A champ, already had the No. 1 seed in Class A South and a first-round bye wrapped up before the game.
“I didn’t tell the kids that,” said Kezal.
The Golden Trojans came out and took control from the start, like they have done most of the season.
Fullback Owen Elliott scored three touchdowns.
The Golden Trojans intercepted two passes and shut down Bonny Eagle’s offense in the first half.
Bonny Eagle had its winning streak stopped at five games and will be the No. 3 seed in the playoffs.
The Scots got off to a slow start and Thornton pounced. Bonny Eagle Coach Kevin Cooper didn’t think it was a case of nerves.
“This is a tough place to play and Thornton Academy is a very good football team,” he said. “I told my team at halftime, ‘let’s win the second half.’ And I thought we did.”
Even with his team holding a comfortable early lead, Kezal was leery of the Scots’ comeback ability.
“I knew Bonny Eagle had the potential to get back into it. They’re a good football team,” Kezal said.
Of Elliott’s three-touchdown performance, Kezal said: “Owen has been kind of the forgotten man in the backfield. He did a nice job.”
Elliott is one of the keys for the Golden Trojans’ defense. A linebacker, he relays the defensive calls from Kezal. Elliott said it was nice to have his number called on offense.
“It felt great,” he said. “The line did a great job opening holes for me.
“Overall I thought we played very well. The bye will give us a chance to work on a few things.”
Thornton Academy jumped to an early lead when Greg Ruff scored from the 3 on the opening drive, set up by a 26-yard run by Lambert.
The Golden Trojans pushed their lead to 10-0 on a 31-yard field goal by Cam Cadorette on a drive that started with a fumble recovery.
Thornton Academy made it 24 straight points on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Austin McCrum to Corey Hart late in the first quarter and a 20-yard run by Elliott early in the second.
Bonny Eagle finally got on the scoreboard on a 46-yard run by Zack Brannon on a fourth-and-2 play.
Later in the quarter, Nick Thorne scored on a 5-yard run, capping a drive that was keyed by a 50-yard run by Brannon, to make it 31-14.
With 55 seconds remaining in the first half, Elliott scored from the 1.
Thorne scored his second touchdown, this one from the 6, early in the third to make it 38-21.
With just over eight minutes remaining, Bonny Eagle elected to go for it on fourth-and-1 from its 9 and Brannon was stopped for a 2-yard loss.
“If we punt, we don’t have a chance to win the game,” said Cooper.
Elliott then capped off his day and the scoring with a 1-yard run.
Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or:
tchard@pressherald.com
Twitter: TomChardPPH
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