St. Thomas Aquinas’ Duque is the Broward Flag Football Coach of the Year
Broward County has had only three schools win flag football state championships since the sport became sanctioned by the Florida High School Athletic Association in 2003.
St. Thomas Aquinas came really close to becoming the fourth last month in Tampa.
The Raiders, under the guidance of coach Derek Duque, advanced to their first ever state final four, losing to Loxahatchee Seminole Ridge in the Class 3A championship game.
It’s part of a gradual progression for Aquinas, which has been inching closer to winning that state title under Duque’s leadership in recent years.
And so, Duque is once again the Miami Herald’s Broward County Flag Football Coach of the Year.
Duque led the Raiders to a 16-4 record, district and regional championships, and an eight-game winning streak. During that surge, Aquinas shut out four opponents including Homestead - the team that advanced to state in 3A the prior season - in the regional finals.
The Raiders went on to edge Tallahassee Chiles 20-19 in a thriller in the state semifinals in their final four debut.
Aquinas was led on the field by senior receiver/linebacker Emmi Merhi, as well as senior Ron’Neisha Thomas, junior Aimee Colson and senior Samantha Calavetta.
The four leaders formed a potent group, which helped the Raiders outscore their opponents by 407 points this season.
Aquinas will have to replace some key players going into next season, but will count on Colson and junior quarterback Sianna Gonzalez, who saw a lot of key playing time this season, to help the Raiders clear that final hurdle to a state title.
