Larry Thornton has resigned as the Spruce Mountain boys’ soccer coach after one regular season game with the Phoenix.

Following Friday’s 6-1 loss to Leavitt, Thornton submitted a letter of resignation to Spruce Mountain principal T.J. Plourde and athletic administrator Lee Hixon.

Hixon confirmed Saturday that Thornton had stepped down and that a search for a new coach is on the agenda.

“He did resign on Friday, and we are moving forward,” Hixon said. “He will not be coming back.”

Thornton resigned Friday night after his team’s opening-day loss and first audition in the KVAC. Following the game, Thornton ordered his team to forgo the traditional postgame handshake and sent them to the corner of the field in two groups, those who had finished the game and those who did not. He began berating them and at one point, dragged three of his players, one by one, up before the team. He pointed out how exhausted those three players were and that they had never asked to come out of the game. All this was done while fans and reporters looked on.

After addressing the team, he approached a Sun Journal reporter and admitted that he regretted his actions.

Thornton declined to comment about the incident.

“I haven’t sat down with Lee and T.J. yet,” Thornton said Saturday. “I sent them some information but haven’t had a chance to sit down and talk to them yet face-to-face. So I’d rather not have any comment.”

Thornton did admit that he contacted them Friday night and had resigned.

“I sent Lee and T.J. an email, but I haven’t talked to them about it yet,” Thornton said. “It wasn’t fun, and it’s not something I can talk about. I need to talk to T.J. and I need to talk to Lee about it.”

Hixon said that Spruce Mountain soccer was moving forward and that discussions would begin Monday about the next direction of the program.

“Where we go from here will be determined on Monday,” Hixon said. “Mr. Plourde and I will sit down and have a conversation about options and what steps we need to take to ensure that we get the right guy for these kids.”

Hixon explained that legally the school has to advertise the opening.

“So we’ll have to start from square one and start all over again,” Hixon said.

Thornton took over the program this season after a two years away. He had been with the Livermore Falls team for seven years before the team merged with Jay. He briefly assisted Bill Acritelli, who coached Spruce Mountain until stepping down last fall.

Thornton had taken over a fledgling Andies team in 2002. Livermore Falls produced winning seasons in the final three years he was there and made the playoffs. He stepped down then because of job opportunities that conflicted with coaching. He returned to help Acritelli with the Phoenix in their first year but had been away from the game the last two seasons.

The Spruce Mountain boys’ next game is scheduled for Tuesday at home against Gardiner at 7 p.m.

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