SACO — It was a day full of cheers, and at the same time, a day full of tears.

On one the home side of the field, those supporting the Thornton Academy football team walked out of Hill Stadium on Saturday afternoon with smiles on their faces, enjoying the ring of the victory bell and the fact that their Golden Trojans beat their biggest rival, the Biddeford Tigers, 34-0 to not only take home the Battle of the Bridge trophy, but also secure the No. 2 seed in the Western Class A playoffs.

But on the other side of the field, heads hung low. It was a historic day for the Tigers, but not in a good sense. Biddeford finished its season with an 0-8 record, the first time the Tigers have been through a winless season since 1978. Legendary head coach Mike Landry was in his second season at the helm at the time, and went on to finish his 17-year career at Biddeford with a 135-37 record, along with six state championships.

But on Saturday, the glory days of Biddeford football seemed light years away. The Tigers, once full of players, stood on the sidelines with a roster of 38. On the opposite side of the field, the Trojans carried a crew of 54 players. The Tigers had five players weighing in at more than 200 pounds, their biggest player topping out at 235 pounds ”“ just 10 pounds more than Thornton tight end Dakota Tarbox.

But the Tigers were still full of fight, and head coach Scott Descoteaux, holding back tears after the game, was grateful for the effort of his team throughout the season.

“Our kids have given it the best that they can,” Descoteaux said. “Unfortunately, we’re not as skilled, and we haven’t been able to develop to the point where we could get much done as far as wins and losses, but these kids worked hard. They practiced hard, they improved, they’ve done everything we’ve asked. They haven’t quit, and you know what, when you’re not winning, there’s not a tougher thing to go through. We’re not used to that. I’m not used to that.”

Thornton Academy running back Andrew Libby led the Trojans with three rushing touchdowns on the day, and could have finished the game with six touchdowns, had three not been called back due to penalties. Libby has 12 total touchdowns on the season for Thornton, nine of which have come on the ground.

“We rely on him quite a bit,” Thornton quarterback Eric Christensen said. “We always know he’s going to score. If he gets the ball near the end zone, we know he’s going in.”

Trojans running back Nick Kenney scored the first touchdown of the day, a 3-yard run into the end zone to cap of a 14-play, 55-yard drive on the Trojans’ first possession. Brandon Briggs’ extra point gave Thornton a 7-0 lead.

Libby scored his first touchdown of the game in the second quarter on a 1-yard dive into the end zone. After the Briggs extra point, the Trojans were up 14-0. Christensen capped off the scoring in the first half with a 7-yard run into the end zone on an option play to give Thornton a comfortable 21-0 lead.

Libby would score the final two touchdowns of the ballgame, one on a 4-yard run, another on a 13-yard jaunt into the end zone out of the “Wildcat” formation, to give Thornton the 34-0 lead.

Libby led Thornton with 150 total yards (83 rushing, 12 receiving, 18 passing, 37 return) on the day. Christensen was 11 of 15 passing for 103 yards. Tarbox led all Thornton receivers with five catches for 59 yards.

The win was sweet revenge for the Trojans, who lost 27-21 to the Tigers last year at Waterhouse Field. It had been the first win for Biddeford in five years.

“It feels pretty good,” Christensen said. “After what happened last year, just to come back and beat them.”

The Tigers had no success offensively, gaining a total of 62 yards on the day, with only five first downs.

“I thought our kids played pretty well,” Thornton Academy head coach Kevin Kezal said. “I thought our kids executed well, besides the penalties. We were snake-bitten, but I thought our kids played well.”

Thornton (7-1) will host No. 7 Windham (4-4) in the Western Class A quarterfinals on Saturday at Hill Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

The Trojans defeated the Eagles 7-0 in Saco back on Sept. 17, a game that for Thornton was full of errors and penalties.

Those errors, on Thornton’s part, will try to be erased against Windham.

“I threw two picks myself that day,” Christensen said. “If I can cut back on those, we should do well offensively. Our defense shut them out the last time we played them, so if we can do that again, we should be fine.”

For Biddeford, however, the offseason begins. And thoughts of glory days gone by is all to which players, coaches and fans can cling.

“The proof is clear, and our kids know, we need to be bigger and stronger,” Descoteaux said. “We need to work hard in the weight room. These kids need to make a decision whether or not this is okay with them, or if they want to do something about it.”

— Contact Dave Dyer at 282-1535, Ext. 318 or follow him on Twitter @Dave_Dyer.