SACO — Marshwood High School had something to brag about after its football contest against Thornton Academy Saturday afternoon at Dr. Paul S. Hill Stadium.

The Hawks were the first team this season to put up double digit points on the vaunted Golden Trojans defense.

However, it still wasn’t enough to upset Thornton Academy, who defeated Marshwood 35-10, much to the delight of the homecoming crowd.

While the game quickly got out of hand early, one would never know after the game that the Trojans had won the contest, as players looked dissapointed, saying they knew they could have played better than the 25-point win.

“We knew we didn’t play our best,” running back Peter Remmes said. “We got two good opponents for the rest of the season and we want to come out and if we want to keep playing, we have to play better and get better every week and play better than that.”

The Hawks (0-6) surprised the crowd and the Trojans defense by scoring on their first drive of the game. Marshwood split end Reggie Muchemore took an inside handoff and weaved his way around the defense on his way to a 51-yard touchdown run. Chris Wild’s extra point gave Marshwood an early 7-0 lead.

Thornton Academy (6-0) answered back on their first drive, when quarterback Steve Trask kept the ball and ran over a slew of Hawks defenders – and even teammate Nate Colpitts – on his way to the endzone on a 30-yard touchdown run. Alex Howard’s extra point tied the game 7-7.

>From then on, the first half was all Thornton Academy, as the team would score a touchdown on the next three consecutive drives, all on running plays, with Remmes scoring twice and fullback Adam Lamontagne chipping in with a touchdown run of his own. With 10 minutes to play in the half, the Trojans were up by a 28-7 score.

Marshwood’s final points of the game came on a 30-yard field goal by Wild, who used the swirling wind at his back to his advantage to bring the score to 28-10 with 1:17 left to play.

The Trojans responded by quickly moving the ball 68 yards down the field for one more touchdown. Highlights of the drive included a 52-yard pass from Trask to running back Tim Grose. On the very next play, Trask hooked up with Grose again for a 10-yard strike and a 35-10 lead.

The Trojan defense were the stars of the second half, making life miserable for Hawks quarterback Troy Pappas, who showed resiliency by coming back from a leg injury earlier in the game to lead the Marshwood offense.

Thornton Academy head coach Kevin Kezal praised the defense, saying hard work has paid off in the group’s success.

“I think we have a lot of tough kids who run pretty well,” Kezal said. “They buy into the game plan, work hard and study the game plan. They’re a good group of kids.”

Offensively, penalties and troubles with execution followed the Trojans throughout the half, but the group was able to kill time off the clock with running plays to Lamontagne, a sophomore who was starting in place of Zach Sheehan, who was out with an injury. Lamontagne finished the game with 67 yards on the ground.

Trask finished the game as the offensive leader for Thornton Academy, connecting on seven passes for 122 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 44 yards on eight carries and a touchdown.

Muchemore finished as the statistical leader for the Hawks, gaining 79 yards on the ground on six carries.

The Trojans do not have an easy finish to their schedule. The team will travel to Waterboro Oct. 16 for a matchup against Massabesic (4-2) at Ronco Field. A week later, the Trojans will host Biddeford, currently 5-1, in the 100th game of the historic Battle of the Bridge rivalry.

Kezal said the Mustangs will not be an easy opponent next week.

“We’ve got to be disciplined on defense and contain all three phases of the option,” Kezal said. “Offensively, we’ve got to make sure we put pads on people. They play very well on defense.”

— Contact Dave Dyer at 282-1535 Ext. 317.