SOUTH PARIS — A year ago, Oxford Hills quarterback Brady Truman was pressed into duty against Thornton Academy when starter Eli Soehren went down with an ankle injury. Truman showed he could play in that win over the Trojans.
Friday night against Thornton Academy, Truman showed he’s now one of the best quarterbacks in the state.
Truman, a senior, led his team on the go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter, helping the Vikings take a 21-14 win over the Trojans in a rematch of last season’s Class A state final. Truman finished 19 of 25 for 321 yards and three touchdowns. Oxford Hills, the defending state champion, is now 2-0. For Thornton Academy, it was the second loss by a touchdown in as many weeks, and the Trojans are 0-2 for the first time since 2003.
The start of the game was delayed 30 minutes because of thunder in the area an hour before the scheduled kickoff at 7.
Down 14-0 at the half, Thornton scored a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to tie the game. First, Harry Bunce’s 1-yard run with 8:40 left in the third cut the deficit in half. Then, with 1:25 left in the quarter, Mauricio Sunderland (13 carries, 92 yards) took a pitch from quarterback Wyatt Benoit, broke a tackle and went 48 yards for the tying touchdown.
From there, Truman did his thing, leading the Vikings on a 10-play, 72-yard drive. His 9-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Carson with 8:28 to play gave Oxford Hills the lead for good.
The Trojans took their ensuing drive to the Vikings 17 but lost the ball on a fumble. Thornton got one last chance, from their 20 with 2:05 remaining, but were unable to convert a first down. Truman took a knee to end the game.
The Vikings scored a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead into the break. The first came on a one-play drive when Truman connected with Nick Binette for an 80-yard touchdown pass. Binette (six catches, 177 yards) got a step on his defender and raced untouched to the end zone with 8:58 left in the half.
After forcing the Trojans to punt on their next drive, the Vikings took over on their own 1. Oxford Hills went 99 yards in 10 plays. The drive was extended by Binette’s 40-yard catch on a screen pass on third-and-6 from the TA 46. Two plays later, Truman hit 6-foot-4 Brayden Murch with a fade to the right corner of the end zone. After Truman’s pass to Binette for the conversion, the Vikings had a 14-0 lead with 1:41 left in the half.
The Vikings had a chance to score in the first quarter but were stuffed on a fourth-and-inches run at the 6.
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