SACO — They were only scrimmages a week into the preseason, but the Thornton Academy football team looked to be in midseason form on Monday, while Biddeford looked to have made some strides from last year’s winless season.
The Trojans faced off against perennial Class A East contender Edward Little, and they looked focused and ready for a season that could be special.
“I thought we executed,” said Thornton coach Kevin Kezal. “It’s tough. We have a lot of practices, with double sessions and stuff. It’s nice to be able to go out and hit a different color, and I thought the kids played with some pretty good emotion tonight.”
During a scrimmage against Windham, the Tigers were put to the test to see if the team gained some experience from last season.
The defense looked strong as Windham had a few break out plays and long passes that burned Biddeford in the long run. The first team defense held Windham to minimal yardage and created turnovers. The depth of Biddeford, however, would show to be a weakness as Windham took advantage of substitutions.
The offense got out to a slow start but picked up as the offensive line started to play well together pass blocking and run blocking.
It did struggle running up the middle, but Biddeford’s speed led it to the corner first creating positive yardage. When the offensive line gave quarterback Nick Leblond time to throw, Biddeford chewed up yardage and created first downs.
“We will need to develop our ”˜big guys’ in order to compete in a very competitive Class A West,” said Tigers coach Scott Descoteaux.
The scrimmages weren’t a complete copy of a normal game, with each team getting a mandatory 10-play drive before starting a real four-down drive.
In the Thornton Academy scrimmage, the Edward Little offense started first, and the Trojan defense bent, but didn’t break.
It batted down a pass in the end zone on the final 10th play of the opening drive, then forced the Red Eddies into a three-and-out thanks to a 10-yard loss and two incomplete passes.
On Edward Little’s next chance it had only two positive yardage plays in the 10-play stretch, and Thornton book-ended a three-and-out with an interception and a sack.
“We are replacing some kids defensively. I think they learned their way as they went along. I thought overall it was a good start,” Kezal said about the play of his defense. A defense that lost Luke Libby, who was one of the top defensive lineman in the state last year.
Unlike Edward Little, the Trojans had no problem moving the ball on offense.
The Trojan offense scored on every possession it had, including the second string scoring twice in their only 10-play sequence.
Quarterback Eric Christensen showed off both his arm and legs, running for a touchdown and throwing for two more.
— Contact Wil Kramlich and Nate Fowler at 282-1535, Ext. 323.
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