SACO — When Thornton Academy and Cheverus meet on the football field, it usually makes for a great game. Save for a Cheverus blowout last season, the recent history of the matchup has meant high-stakes, big crowds, and memorable games. That was no different on Saturday at Hill Stadium, as the Stags came away with a 48-41, double-overtime victory over the Trojans in a Class A gridiron clash.

Many fans thought before the season that the game would be a battle of unbeaten when the two teams faced off in week six of the regular season, but that went by the wayside when the Stags were blown out by Windham, 35-7, two weeks ago.

Saturday’s matchup looked headed that way in the early minutes, as Thornton (5-1) went ahead 14-0 after its first two drives ”“ which ended in touchdown runs by Michael Laverriere and Owen Elliott.

The Trojans defense looked dominant early, as they knocked the Stags (5-1) back 10 yards combined on the first two plays from scrimmage. After allowing a first down on the next drive, the Trojans forced an interception by Cheverus quarterback Isaac Dunn, which set up Elliott’s scoring run.

The next Cheverus drive started with a 2-yard loss, but on the next play Joe Fitzpatrick ran 54 yards for a touchdown.

The Trojans countered with a 53-yard touchdown pass from Austin McCrum to Corey Hart to cap off a five-play drive.

Momentum swung again, as Justin Johnson ran away for a 54-yard touchdown on the Stags’ next play, cutting the deficit to 20-13.

Elliott fumbled the ball away on the Trojans’ next play, setting up a four-play drive for Cheverus that ended with a Dunn 20-yard touchdown pass to Zordan Holman, which tied the game 20-20.

The quick scoring continued, as McCrum hit Ben Lambert for a 60-yard touchdown pass on the next play. Two plays later ”“ and two plays into the second quarter ”“ Fitzpatrick ran for a 67-yard touchdown.

“I think we knew it was going to be a hard game. It was just a back-and-forth, said Thornton head coach Kevin Kezal. “Two teams that played real hard, and in the end they made a couple more plays than we did.”

The Trojans punted for the first time on their next drive, then made the Stags do the same, as the scoreboard got a break.

Thornton then went on another scoring drive, an 11-play sequence that ended with a 5-yard tumble by Laverriere to put the Trojans up 34-27.

Fitzpatrick looked like he might break another long scoring run on the final play of the half, but was stopped after a 22-yard scamper at the 25-yard line.

That was a mostly fitting ending to a first half that featured 596 yards of total offense combined (314 for Thornton, 282 for Cheverus. McCrum ”“ who Kezal said “played great” ”“ was 10-11 in the half for 252 yards and two touchdowns. Fitzpatrick led the Stags with 182 yards on 11 first-half carries.

“In my opinion, he’s the best. He’s our workhorse, we’re going to give him the ball,” Holman said of Fitzpatrick, who entered the game second in Eastern Class A with 975 yards rushing. “It’s one thing to know, it’s another thing to stop him.”

While the first half looked more like a basketball game than a football game, it could almost be predicted that the second half would see a little less scoring, knowing the coaching staffs taking part and the fact that the two teams entered the contest with five shutouts combined.

That proved to be the case, as the Stags shut out the Trojans in the second half and were able to scratch out a score of their own to send the game to overtime.

“I thought both teams played pretty physical. It was kind of an offensive battle in the first half, and in the second half it became a defensive battle,” said Kezal.

Thornton had its chances. The Trojans opened the second half with a promising-looking drive, but Holman sacked McCrum on 3rd-and-5 from the Cheverus 28-yard line to force a punt.

On the Stags’ first play of the half, Greg Ruff ripped the ball out of Fitzpatrick’s arms, but the Trojans couldn’t corral the ball as it rolled out of bounds.

The next Thornton drive again made it into Cheverus territory, but McCrum was picked off Kenny Drelich while targeting Barrett. McCrum was 14-15 up to that point, but just 1-6 after the interception.

The Stags fed off the interception, which came on the penultimate play of the third quarter. Cheverus embarked on a 14-play, 62-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard touchdown run by Johnson. The drive included two third-down conversions and an 8-yard pass from Dunn to Holman on 4th-and-7 the play before Johnson’s scoring run.

“(Cheverus head coach John Wolfgram’s) play-calling is excellent,” said Holman when asked about the fourth-down play.

Holman made another big play on the ensuing kickoff, as he was the last line of defense to stop a long return by Ben Lambert. With good field position, the Trojans were able to drive to the Cheverus 33-yard line in five plays, but on 4th-and-1 a McCrum pass to the 6-foot-5 Barrett was broken up by 6-foot-2 Drelich.

“We thought we had a good play. We felt like they were going to be up tight. I think that’s a situation where you want to take a shot,” Kezal said of the play call. “We got Austin throwing the ball to Kevin, and certainly, hey they made a great play.”

The Stags then went three-and-out and punted the ball away with 46 seconds remaining. The Trojans got the ball back and were unsuccessful on consecutive McCrum pass attempts, then ran up the middle with Laverriere before letting the clock run out and going to overtime.

Thornton got the ball first and started their drive from the 10-yard line with a 4-yard run by Elliott, who was brought down by his facemask. The Stags were called for a personal foul on the infraction, giving the Trojans another first down at the 3-yard line. Ruff ran in from there on the next play, putting Thornton up 41-34.

Johnson and the Stags answered with a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game up and force a second overtime.

Cheverus needed just one play for Fitzpatrick ”“ who finished 201 yards on 20 carries ”“ to run in from 10 yards out.

Laverriere started the Thornton drive with 2-yard and 1-yard runs. Dan Baker then broke up a pass from McCrum to Hart in the end zone on third down, and on fourth down McCrum ”“ who passed for 302 yards ”“ overthrew Barrett in the end zone to end the game.

“We had a group of high-character guys, and we answered the bell every time. Every time they hit us with something, we answered the bell,” said Holman. “I take my hat off to them, they played a great time.”

“We’ll go watch film on Monday, and over the weekend, and we’ll come back next week and work to get better,” said Kezal. “You need games like this; if you’re going to be battle-hardened for the playoffs you need tough games like this. It was a heck of a game.”

— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or sports@journaltribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.