SACO — The No. 1 Thornton Academy Golden Trojans ran over the No. 4 Scarborough Red Storm, 35-0, behind an impressive performance by running back Greg Ruff, who ran for 223 yards and two touchdowns in the Class A South semifinal game at Hill Stadium on Saturday.

It only took two plays from scrimmage for TA to score. The first play was a 69-yard rush from Ruff, which brought the Trojans to the 9-yard line. That was followed by a 9-yard sneak up the middle from quarterback Austin McCrum for the score.

TA head coach Kevin Kezal was pleased with his team’s fast start.

“We got off to a great start … our front played well. Greg popped it and (Austin) got us that early score which was huge,” said Kezal.

Scarborough rebounded well initially, holding TA to multiple short drives, one of which was ended by an impressive one-handed interception by Scarborough’s Connor Kelly.

Eventually, the Trojans would wear down the Red Storm. With 31 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, Ruff broke off a 41-yard touchdown score, putting TA up 14-0.

TA responded with an impressive one-handed interception of their own. On the first play of the following Scarborough drive, senior Ben Lambert pinned the ball with one hand against his helmet as he dove for the ball and hit the ground.

Scarborough began the second quarter looking sharp, driving the ball deep into TA territory. However, TA’s defense came up big when junior Cam Cadorette intercepted the ball in the end zone with eight minutes remaining.

TA’s offense continued to surge, following up the pick with a long drive ending with a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Ruff. Then, in the final minute of the half, McCrum led TA down the field with a 43-yard pass to receiver Corey Hart. The Trojans finished off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run from Michael Laverriere – putting TA up 28-0.

TA entered the third with the momentum, and less than four minutes into the quarter, McCrum and Ruff once again led the Trojans down the field. The drive was finished off with a 21-yard touchdown reception for tight end Rome Pura.

Toward the end of the third, TA began digging into the depth of their bench as many of the starters were swapped out.

Although this could have been an opportunity for Scarborough to bring themselves back, the TA defense continued to play well, surrendering fewer than 100 yards and no points in the second half, even with multiple starters being phased out.

TA may have only scored seven points in the second half, but it was clear that they were in control the entire 48 minutes, leading to a decisive 35-0 victory.

Kezal stressed the importance of winning the possession battle against this high-powered Scarborough offense.

“They’re a really good offensive team, so it was good to hog the ball. They have a lot of good athletes, their quarterback can pass and run the ball well, our defense played well today,” said Kezal.

Despite the team’s all around dominance, it was hard to not single out Ruff’s individual impact.

“That is just the way things go. The wind made it hard to pass, especially going into it. But I guess today was Greg’s day to shine,” said Kezal.

Kezal was satisfied with his team’s performance and looks forward to next week.

“We played real well today on both sides of the ball. Our offense was able to produce and our defense was able to keep the ball out of Scarborough’s hands and make the stops. Everyone played very good football today,” said Kezal.

Thornton Academy will host No. 3 Bonny Eagle on Saturday in the Class A South finals. The game is set for a 1 p.m. kick at Hill Stadium.

— Sports Staff Writer Alex Sponseller can be reached at sports@journaltribune.com.