SACO — After losing 49-14 against Bonny Eagle earlier in the season, the Thornton Academy football team got some revenge, beating the visiting Scots 28-24 in the Class A South semifinals on Saturday afternoon.

“I think we played a lot harder — we came out and practiced hard in the two weeks we had. I knew we had all the confidence that we needed to win the game,” said TA junior standout C.J. LaBreck after the win.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Trojans would take the lead early in the second when Anthony Bracamonte rushed for a 5-yard score. LaBreck would then take an interception 45 yards for the score on the next Bonny Eagle drive to extend the lead to 14-0.

Alex Sprague scored from five yards out to get Bonny Eagle on the board just before halftime, but TA took the 14-6 lead into the break.

It was much different than the first meeting, when the Scots scored back-to-back touchdowns in the final six minutes of the half to go up two scores.

“We knew that we could play with them, we just had a bunch of mistakes (the first time),” said Bracamonte. “Going into halftime we knew we couldn’t let up, we had to put our foot on the gas.”

The Trojans did just that in the third as quarterback Kobe Gaudette, who got the start over regular starter Will Mitchell, connected with Bracamonte for a 17-yard to score to extend the lead to 21-6.

LaBreck would snag his second interception on the next Bonny Eagle drive.

“(The interceptions) were big, those were a game changer and that’s what set the tone for us. We wanted to play hard after that so those were big, and they were hard plays,” said LaBreck.

The Scots did not go away quietly, getting a 3-yard score by John Merrill late in the third to cut the lead to 21-12 after another missed PAT. Bracamonte would score his third touchdown with 20 seconds left in the third to give the Trojans the 28-12 lead going into the final period.

Bonny Eagle took the momentum in the fourth, getting a 5-yard score by quarterback Connor Sirois with 7:24 to go. The Scots would then drive down the field and get a score when Sirois connected with Kordell Menard with 2:12 left to play. The Scots missed all four PAT attempts on the day.

The Scots had one last chance in the final minute, but TA’s Jordan Sharpe would intercept a Sirois pass as the clock expired to put the game away.

“Our effort … our kids played with unbelievable effort. Bonny Eagle has a great football team and if we played them 10 times we probably wouldn’t win the series, we just had to win today. They played their hearts out,” said TA head coach Kevin Kezal. “Our kids battled, we told them that they’d have to fight with some resiliency, (Bonny Eagle is) going to make some plays, our kids did that and I’m just so proud of our kids.”

Bracamonte finished with over 100 yards on the ground with 77 yards receiving. LaBreck added 36 yards in the air, while Gaudette finished with 115 yards passing.

TA will move on to face top-seeded Scarborough on Friday night. The Trojans topped the Red Storm in a wild 32-28 win earlier this season.

Bracamonte and LaBreck feel confident heading into the battle of the Class A South powerhouses.

“It will be real similar, we have to play like today, we have to play our best football this time of the year and we can’t make mental mistakes,” said Bracmonte.

“We’re all heart,” added LaBreck. “We’re all heart and hard work and I think we can go all the way if we keep up that intensity.”

— Associate Sports Editor Alex Sponseller can be reached at asponseller@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.