SACO — Sanford got off to the start it wanted on the road against Thornton Academy on Saturday. But an interception in the end zone caught by Thornton’s C.J. Michaud turned the tide of the game, and the Trojans rallied to win 25-9 at Hill Stadium.

The Trojans went three and out on their opening possession, then things got worse, as the snap to punter Jesse Miekle went over his head and into the end zone. Miekle, also the team’s starting fullback, tried to run out of the end zone, but was tackled by Jed Scott for a safety.

On Sanford’s fourth play of the game, Josh Schroder found an open hole in the middle of the line and raced 45 yards to the end zone, giving the Spartans a 9-0 lead just 2:44 into the game.

The Trojans’ next drive moved into Sanford territory before a bad snap cost them 24 yards, and another bad snap on a punt gave the Spartans the ball at the Thornton 8-yard line.

Two plays later, Sanford tried a pass into the end zone from Schroder, but Michaud pounced on an overthrow to prevent the Spartans from pulling ahead any further.

“That turnover is huge. If they stick that, that becomes very difficult to come back from,” said Thornton head coach Kevin Kezal. “After that point, we had a great drive, and went down and scored.”

“To me it was so big, even though it was early in the game ”¦ it was like someone put a pin in a balloon,” said Sanford head coach Mike Fallon. “That particular negative play, for whatever reason, was a huge momentum swing. We just couldn’t get our grip back on it.”

The Trojans didn’t have to worry about a bad snap on a punt on their third possession, as they drove down the field thanks to the right arm and legs of sophomore quarterback Austin McCrum. McCrum went 3 for 4 passing on the drive and drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone on a throw to Corey Hart that set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Miekle two plays later.

McCrum finished the Trojans’ next drive through the air, as he found Carter Davis down the right sideline for a 21-yard touchdown pass. McCrum then hit Cody Lynn for the 2-point conversion to put Thornton up 15-9.

“Austin has progressed great through the season, and he made some great throws,” said Kezal.

Davis ran for 31 yards to open up the Trojans’ next possession, which ended with a 21-yard field goal by Chris Camire with just over a minute left in the first half.

“He’s a pretty dynamic player,” Kezal said of Davis, who was awarded the game ball by injured senior captain Andrew Libby.

Sanford got the ball to start the second half, but didn’t keep it for long. On its second play of the half, Chase Eldredge underthrew Justin Roberge, and Lynn was there to make a diving interception.

The third quarter featured three punts and no points, as both defenses stepped up. Sanford slowed down the Thornton passing game, as McCrum completed just one pass in the quarter, and the Trojans’ interior defensive line prevented Schroder from finding any running room up the middle.

The Spartans drove into the red zone early in the fourth quarter, but a fumble by Roberge ”“ Sanford’s third turnover of the game ”“ was recovered by Thornton’s Jordan Matthews.

“Everything we did fizzled,” said Fallon. “We got some drives going. We made some pretty good defensive stops. We couldn’t generate points.

“Our opportunities to score just went away on mistakes you can’t make.”

After another Trojan punt, Sanford was gifted a first down after it looked like it would go three and out, as the Trojans were called for an unsportsman-like conduct penalty. But on the next play, Schroder threw a halfback pass that was intercepted by Michaud and returned 64 yards to the Sanford 1-yard line.

A block in the back penalty moved the ball back to the 26-yard line, but freshman backup quarterback Mike Laverriere ran five consecutive times and finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.

Sanford went on a 14-play drive in the final 2:39 of the game, but ran out of time, and downs, as a pass from Eldredge to Nick Veino on fourth down was knocked away by Lynn as time expired.

“I think our kids realize it’s a 48-minute game. Not everything is going to go your way. You’re going to have some highs, you’re going to have some lows during a game,” said Kezal. “I think our kids are pretty good at playing 48 minutes and laying it on the line.

“We’re not getting style points, or doing it pretty. But we’re finding ways to win.”

Thornton (3-1) travels to Waterboro to play Massabesic Friday night, while Sanford (2-2) hosts 3-1 South Portland.

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