BONNY EAGLE – In one of their last tests before opening the regular season at Westbrook on Sept. 3, the Bonny Eagle High School football team traveled to Thornton Academy on Aug. 27 to face the Golden Trojans in a preseason game.

It was a matchup of two teams that felt burned by how 2009 concluded, with undefeated Thornton Academy having been upset by Cheverus in the semifinal round of the Class A West playoffs. The Scots’ fate, however, was arguably worse, as the team missed out on their own trip to the Western Class A finals on the last play of the game – a daring all-or-nothing two-point conversion completion by Windham in overtime.

In the end, the Trojans prevailed by a score of 21-12, although the Scots were within a point of tying Thornton Academy in the third quarter, but missed on their own two-point attempt that would have given them the lead. For senior starting quarterback Matt Rollins, the play brought back memories of last year.

“At the end there when we were down by one point, and we went for two, I would say that we had a little desperation not to end up tied,” he said. “Ever since Jackson Taylor with the Windham Eagles completed that two-point conversion last year, that’s all we’ve been thinking about.”

Despite the lingering frustration that hangs over the team, the Scots are working hard to move into the 2010 season with their heads held high. Head Coach Kevin Cooper said after the game that he felt the day’s results came about because of a week of bad practicing, rather than having anything to do with a continuation of last year.

“We were pleased in that – while we didn’t play well, and we’re not happy with our performance – we were able to stay within a touchdown of a good football team,” Cooper said. “(Thornton Academy is) very well-coached, and they’ve got a great program here, with a lot of tradition. We played poorly, but we were still within a touchdown.”

Cooper described the last week as being “not so great,” but stated that he believes that overall the preseason has played out well for Bonny Eagle.

“When practice first starts, we go away to camp at a place called Camp Kohut in Oxford,” Cooper said. “We get up there and try to get away from things and hope to grow as a team. That week went really well for us.”

After finishing their first drive on a fourth-down turnover, the Trojans were able to get the ball back and go up by a touchdown. The Scots countered after a Thornton Academy fumble in the second quarter, and impressively drove down the field to hang up six of their own, but missed on a field goal that would have tied the game up.

“This game gave us kind of a wake up call,” said Bonny Eagle senior tight end Jeff Amell. “It lets us know that we’ve got to pick it up, since we’re going to face better competition than that this year, maybe.”

On the first series of the second half, Bonny Eagle again moved the ball well, pushing to the Trojans’ six yard line before failing to convert on a fourth down. With the ball back, Thornton Academy scored late in the third, but missed their own field goal to make it 13-12. Although the Scots threatened in the red zone twice more in the game, a 50-yard catch-and-run by the Trojans’ Zach Oliveria put Thornton Academy out of reach at 21-12.

Although this was just a preseason game, the Scots owned up to the loss as if it counted, and chose to focus on where the team could improve as they moved towards the all-important opener with the Blue Blazes.

“We’re just going to work on everything,” Rollins said. “We just want get better on all aspects of the ball. We want to build the best team defense, best offense, best water girls and best coaching. Really, though, our coaches are outstanding. They do a great job in preparing us, and we have the best coaching staff in the state. We just need to live up to what they expect of us.”

Out in the wilds of hostile Trojan country, a man can get downright lonely. Thankfully, Bonny Eagle senior QB Matt Rollins likes the freedom of the open range – with nary a Golden Trojan in sight, Rollins is free to pick up as much ground as he can against Thornton Academy on Friday. Staff photo by Emory Rounds