SACO — Both Thornton Academy head coach Kevin Kezal and Sanford head coach Mike Fallon said they thought that the battle at the line of scrimmage would determine the winner of their respective team’s Class A West semifinal matchup. Well, they were both right. The Trojans owned the battle in the trenches on both sides of the ball, and rolled to a 35-6 victory at Hill Stadium on Saturday.

The first drive of the game for the sixth-seeded Spartans was a sign of things to come, as they ran the ball three times for minus-10 yards.

“That was kind of an eye-opening tone-setter that we better buckle up or it’s going to be tough sledding. And it was,” said Fallon. “Offensively they just handcuffed us.”

A fumble by Thornton’s C.J. Michaud on the ensuing punt gave new life to Sanford. The Spartans got the ball in Thornton territory, and drove to the 35-yard line, but had to punt the ball away once again.

The Trojans’ offense was just as stagnant through the first quarter of play, as their first drive stalled at their own 40-yard line, and their second ended inches short of a first down on 4th-and-2 at the Sanford 30.

The two teams traded punts, and the Spartans again got the ball in Thornton territory. But once again, they couldn’t take advantage, as Josh Schroder was stopped short on 4th-and-2.

“Defensively we were stout the whole game. We just kept making plays, and we all wrapped up,” said Thornton senior Cody Lynn.

The Trojans finally found some offense as they got the ball back late in the first half. Demel Ruff ran for 17 yards from midfield, and a play later, Austin McCrum connected with Lynn on a 33-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline.

“It was a great throw by Austin,” said Kezal.

Sanford’s next drive went nowhere, and with a strong wind in its face, the Trojans went for the block. The pressure worked, as Jimmy Remmes stuffed Schroder’s punt attempt, and Lynn fell on the ball in the end zone for another touchdown, as the Trojans jumped ahead 14-0 late in the first half.

“Special teams are huge in the playoffs,” said Kezal.

“It was a huge momentum swing going into half,” said Lynn. “That just gave us a lot of momentum, and it just carried on into the second half.”

Sanford got the ball to start the second half, but couldn’t cut into its deficit. The Trojans then drove down for another touchdown, with Ruff (20 rushes for 97 yards) running in for 11 yards to cap off the drive.

The Thornton defense then forced Sanford into three negative-yardage plays on the ensuing drive, capped off by a Jordan Berube sack of quarterback Chase Edredge. The Spartans were held to four yards of offense in the third quarter, and just 47 total heading into the fourth quarter.

“I thought we came out, really dominated in the second half,” said Kezal. “It was a great team effort.”

“We were getting frustrated offensively, and then it puts a little more pressure on the defense,” said Fallon. “And then eventually that begins to crumble a little bit.”

The Trojans put the nail in the coffin early in the fourth, as Owen Elliot scored on a 3-yard touchdown run, and after an Eldredge pass was intercepted by Greg Ruff on Sanford’s next play, Justin Boure scored from one yard out to cap off a four-play Thornton drive.

The Spartans ended the shutout with 2:21 to play, as Peter Hegarty scored on a 9-yard touchdown run against the Thornton reserves.

The Trojans now advance to the Western Maine final for the third year in a row. The Trojans will face off against top-seeded Bonny Eagle ”“ who they beat 30-21 during the regular season ”“ in Standish on Friday at 7 p.m.

— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535.