Anthony Jones had two long touchdown runs to lead Thornton Academy to a 42-27 win over Oxford Hills in Class A State Championship game on Saturday morning at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.
The Trojans started the scoring before they even had the ball on offense when Mason Paulin intercepted a pass and ran it into the endzone from 50 yards out with 7:52 left in the first quarter. They added to the lead when Jones ran 59 yards to make it 14-0 with 3:28 left in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Thornton made it 21-0 on a touchdown run of 36 yards from Isaiah Jones.
Oxford Hills capped a long drive with a Wyatt Knightly 17 yard touchdown reception from Eli Soehren with 4:17 left in first half. The Vikings converted three fourth downs during the drive, including the touchdown play.
The Trojans took a 28-7 halftime lead when Jack Emerson had a three yard touchdown run with 23 seconds left in the half.
Knightly was part of another scoring play for the Vikings, this time he was the passer, as he connected with Teigan Pelletier for a 47 yard touchdown with 3:30 left in the third quarter.
Thornton responded quickly with a 63 yard touchdown run from Jones as they took a 35-14 lead with 2:38 left in the third quarter
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Isaiah Oufiero one yard touchdown run cut the Vikings deficit to 35-21. Oxford Hills went for it on 4th and 6 at their own 25 and turned it over on downs with 7:21 left in the game. Thornton took advantage soon after with a Hayden Whitney 2 yard touchdown run as the Trojans took a 42-21 lead with 6:15 remaining.
Soehren and Pelletier connected for a score for the second time in the contest for the Vikings. This time from 15 yards out with 3:06 remaining. Following the score, Oxford Hills recovered an onside kick. On the next play, Dontea Noel intercepted a Soehren pass to seal the state championship for the Trojans.
Thornton finishes season 11-0. It is the second title in the past three seasons for the Trojans. Oxford Hills finishes the season with a record of 8-2.
Thornton Academy won the 10th gold ball in school history. Photo credit – Andrew Hart/ Maine High School Football
