PORTLAND — What did Andrew Libby do for Thornton Academy, Friday night against Deering?

What didn’t he do?

That’s the better question.

Libby, a sophomore, made plays all over the field and on both sides of the ball to lead the Golden Trojans to a 28-21 upset win over previously unbeaten Deering, at Memorial Field, Friday.

On offense, Libby galloped for touchdown runs of 3 and 5 yards.

On defense, he broke up passes, then picked one off deep in Trojan territory late in the fourth quarter to silence Deering’s bid to score a tying touchdown.

And on special teams, Libby, who is the team’s punter, forced then recovered a fumble that spun the energy in Thornton’s direction, after it appeared the contest was spinning out their control.

“Andrew came up huge with all those plays he made,” said junior quarterback Eric Christensen, who chipped in two touchdown runs to help the Trojan cause. “He gave us all the momentum we needed to win the game.”

Said Libby, “It was awesome to come here and beat them on their own field.”

Fresh in Libby’s mind ”“ and that of all his mates ”“ were the two lopsided losses the Rams handed them last season.

The second of those, a 56-18 playoff slaughter, had come on this same field.

Friday, it was a much different story.

“Anyone who doubted us,” shouted a jubliant Marc Boissonnault, a senior lineman, “is not doubting us anymore.”

Not after Thornton (4-1) spotted their hosts with 14-0 lead then roared back with three unanswered scores ”“ all after Deering turnovers ”“ to take a 21-14 halftime lead.

“Those were big turnovers,” said Libby, “the whole game turned from right there.”

Deering, used the “no-huddle” offense to great effect, scoring twice on passes of 25 and 40 yards from Matt Flaherty to Renaldo Lowry.

The second of those came on the first play of the second quarter, and was like a splash of cold water in the faces of the Trojans.

“We had to get our heads straight,” said Libby, “and start playing the game. Start being on the ball and picking our feet up.”

Libby led the way on that count.

It was his fumble recovery on his own punt, which was bobbled by Lowry near midfield that sent the Trojans on their way.

Six plays later, Libby took the ball in from the three to get Thornton on the scoreboard with 8:36 left in the half.

“He doesn’t play like a sophomore,” said Thornton coach Kevin Kezal. “We try to get the ball in his hands as many times as we could.”

Three minutes later, Thornton safety Josh Cyr picked off a pass by Flaherty at the Deering 25, after Flaherty was nearly sacked by Boissonnault.

It took the Trojans just three plays to cash in the miscue, as Christensen dove in from the 2 to knot the score 14-14.

And still Thornton kept coming.

With 1:02 to go before intermission, the Trojans were set up at the Deering 9, after a blocked punt by John Remmes that was pounced on by Aaron Scott.

Christensen ran it in on the next play to give Thornton the lead.

“The goal line gets pretty big,” said Christensen. “It lights up, and I’ve just got to get in there.”

The Thornton surge carried into the second half, when on the first series, Libby scored again to make it 28-14.

Deering fought back to within a touchdown, when Flaherty and Lowry hooked up again, this time for 80 yards, midway through the fourth quarter.

Then, with 2:42 left to play and the Rams on the march, Libby picked off Flaherty, who tried to hit Lowry at the 5, and sealed the victory.

“This win was huge,” said Libby. “Last year, they killed us. It was awesome.”

— Contact Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com.