Shula shows to honor St. Thomas Aquinas

BY MIKE PHILLIPS mphillips@MiamiHerald.com

They celebrated the best Wednesday afternoon at St. Thomas Aquinas, where the mythical national championship football team was honored at a pep rally at the school that featured Miami Dolphins Hall of Fame coach Don Shula.

St. Thomas Aquinas became the first high school football team from Broward to win a national title when it completed a 15-0 season with a 56-7 victory over nationally ranked Lakeland in the Class 5A state final Dec. 19 in Orlando.

It was the fifth state title for Aquinas and second in a row, and capped off a season in which it dominated everyone, winning by an average of more than 40 points a game. The Raiders averaged 49 points a game.

Aquinas was the consensus national champion, finishing first in all four high school national rankings: The National Prep Poll, USA Today, ESPN and Rivals. USA Today also named St. Thomas Aquinas coach George Smith the national Coach of the Year.

Starting its season 15-0-1, the University School boys' soccer team wanted attention. It wanted people to notice what it had accomplished this season, including a victory over defending state champion American Heritage in December.

Sometimes it is better to let the attention come to you instead of asking for it. American Heritage exacted some revenge, handing visiting University its first loss 2-1 on Wednesday night. The game was played during a downpour in the second-half. American Heritage's victory also made District 14-3A confusing and heading for a series of tiebreakers. Heritage and University are 4-1 in the district and likely to win their remaining district games.

American Heritage (14-4-1) gained a little revenge following a game in December that University won 5-2. Heritage took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Alvaro Bastidis in the final minute of the half. University was able to tie the score on a goal by Connor Rezende in the 65th minute, but less than a minute later, Pablo Noriega scored on an assist from Anthony Villagran for a 2-1 lead.

-- RUDY RODRIGUEZ-CHOMAT

BOYS' BASKETBALL

• Tuesday -- Coral Springs Charter 65, Somerset 41: Stanley Jean-Baptiste made all nine shots from the floor and finished with a game-high 21 points for the Panthers.

Som: Kaye 13, Guardia 1, Carson 4, Hernandez 5, Belizaire 9, Johnson 4, Wiggan 5. CSC (5-7): Smith 6, King 10, Jean-Baptiste 21, Greenaway 4, Ruddock 2, Luedy 18, Plummer 4. Halftime: CSC 30-21. Rebounds: Luedy 8. Assists: Bellan, Smith, King 4. Steals: Greenaway 3.

• Tuesday -- Center of Life Academy 65, South Broward 53 -- SB: Morford 8, Raye 3, Brown 8, Pascel 4, A. Pascal 15, Daniels 15. CLA (14-7): Delancy 13, Moreno 2, Vincent 4, kelly 13, Goumber 2, Blucher 9, Miller 3, Bell 7, Adjehi 6, Koussursi 6. Halftime: CLA 40-25. Three-pointers: Delancy 1, Kelly 2, Blucher 1, Miller 1, MorFord 2, Raye 1, A. Pascal 3, Daniels 1. Rebounds: Delancy 8. Assists: Bell 6. Steals: Blucher 6. Blocks: Delancy 5.

• Tuesday -- Ransom Everglades 39, Sagemont 36: Vinny DeLucia had 10 points and Rod Days Jr. added nine points and eight rebounds for the Lions in the home loss.

RE: Molinet 15, Stanton 4, Gross 8, Givetenstein 4, Feldman 4, Singer 4. Sag (9-7): Days 9, Penny 5, DeLucia 10, Johnson 8, Flynn 4. Halftime: RE 19-13. Three-pointers: Stanton 1, DeLucia 3, Singer 1. Rebounds: Days 8. Assists: Morales 4. Steals: Morales 5.

 

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