Thornton Academy Postscripts Alumni Magazine Spring 2019 | Page 10

AT H L E T I C S
Lords of the Rings: The Lynn brothers and Thornton
Academy’s football success
In 2015, Garret ’18, Cody ’14, Tyler ’17, and Tanner ’20 Lynn posed together at Assumption College where Cody was the starting
tight end.
O
ver the years Thornton Academy
athletics has been a family affair
bringing together generations of
community members to the historic
Saco campus to cheer on the Golden
Trojans. Athletics at Thornton is a
community tradition that has remained
intact since the school fielded its first
interscholastic programs in 1893.
The privilege of wearing a Thornton
Academy uniform has linked siblings
together over the years and produced
many memorable moments. Bob
Warner was arguably the finest
basketball player to ever call Linnell
Gymnasium home; his career total of
1218 points has been unmatched since
his graduation in 1972. His sister Mari
’77 accumulated 677 points during her
TA career, becoming the school’s first
great female basketball player of the
Title IX era.
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Current Thornton Academy Board of
Trustees President Eric Purvis ’81 was
the TA quarterback when the school
relocated its home field facilities to Hill
Stadium. One decade later his brother
Kirk ’93 was the signal caller for the
Golden Trojans in front of what many
witnesses say was the largest crowd ever
to attend a “Battle of the Bridge” game
in the city of Saco. Brynn ’07 and Dan
’09 Smith were both state championship
performers in the discus and shot put at
Thornton Academy before continuing
their academic and athletic careers at
Brown University.
One family – the Lynn brothers – can
make a claim that is unparalleled in
the long history of Thornton Academy
athletics. Cody ’14, Tyler ’17, Garret ’18,
and Tanner ’20 have played key roles for
the four most recent state championship
football teams.
Story by Gary Stevens · Photos Courtesy of the Lynn family
Since Cody entered high school in 2009,
there has been at least one member of
the Lynn family playing in the Thornton
Academy football program. “All of them
were good football players,” observed
Head Coach Kevin Kezal, “but also very
cerebral – they understand the game.”
The Lynn brothers have each been
stellar performers during one of the
most successful periods in the 125 years
of the Thornton Academy program.
Cody ’14 was the starting tight end
and safety for the 2012 Golden Trojan
team that ended a 24-year drought and
won the Gold Ball. “He stretched the
field offensively for us,” recalled Kezal,
“and in his senior year [after star player
Andrew Libby was injured] he became
the quarterback of our defense.” Cody
was a two-time all-conference player
who was also a member of the Maine
Sunday Telegram All-State Team in 2013
and a participant in the 2014 Maine
Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic.
Tyler Lynn ’17 has the distinction
among the brothers of participating
on two Class A state championship
teams (2014 and 2015) and was an all-
conference linebacker during the 2015
Gold Ball campaign. An accomplished
two-sport athlete, Tyler sustained a leg
injury during the 2016 lacrosse season
that forced him onto the sidelines for
his senior football year. Nevertheless,
he remained committed to the program
and was a daily fixture on the sidelines
leading and encouraging his teammates.
Garret ’18 joined his brother Tyler
on the 2015 Gold Ball team and was
arguably the most versatile player
among the Lynn brothers. A tight
end in the mode of his oldest brother
Cody, Garret made a successful shift
to offensive lineman during his senior
season to fill a major void in the line-up.
“His unselfishness of making a move
his senior year for us was rewarded with
him being an all-conference player,”
noted Kezal. In addition to earning
first team all-conference recognition as
an offensive lineman, Garret was also
an all-league performer as a defensive
tackle and selected for the Maine
Sunday Telegram All-State Team.
The latest member of the Lynn family
to be fitted for a state championship
ring, Tanner ’20, started for the Golden
Trojans on defense during the 2018
season and was part of a unit that
yielded only eight points per contest
and recorded four shutouts. A second-
team SMAA defensive tackle, Tanner
accomplished what each of his brothers
had before him on November 17 when
Thornton Academy topped Portland
49-14 at Hill Stadium. “It is cool that it
is one more thing that my brothers and
I can share with one another,” observed
Tanner.
Last season, when he accomplished
what each of his brothers had before
him, Tanner’s response was simple:
“Am I part of the club now?”
Anthony Bracamonte ’19 makes
a catch in the state championship
game against Portland.
P L AY E R O F T H E Y E A R
Anthony Bracamonte ’19 was named the Gatorade
Maine Player of the Year for football for 2019.
The Gatorade Player of the Year Award, which
recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence,
but also high standards of academic achievement and
exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field,
distinguishes Bracamonte as Maine’s best high school
football player.
On the football field, Bracamonte rushed for 1,013
yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 10.9 yards per
carry in 2019. He caught eleven touchdown passes
and scored seven times on special teams (five punt
returns, two kickoffs). In the state championship game
against Portland High School, Bracamonte scored four
touchdowns.
“What made our team special and different from
any other team is that we never trailed in a single
game. I know we went undefeated and won a
state championship, but also everyone on the
team loved each other and that’s something really
special,” Bracamonte said.
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