Five turnovers by St. Thomas Aquinas’ defense leads Raiders past American Heritage
St. Thomas Aquinas and Plantation American Heritage, two of the premier private school programs in the nation and who measure success nothing short of state championships, squared off before a national television audience (ESPN2) on Friday night.
Even though there were no state championships to be won, each was looking to enter next week’s state playoffs with momentum and bragging rights following Friday night’s big showdown, which marked the first meeting between the two powers since 2014.
When it was over nearly three hours after it started, it was St. Thomas, still smarting from an upset loss to Cardinal Gibbons two weeks ago that ruined any hopes of a possible national championship, that emerged with the win, knocking off the Patriots 33-23 at Aquinas’ Brian Piccolo Stadium before a small crowd as the game was played with a limited number of fans (2 guests per player on both teams) with COVID-19 restrictions still in place.
St. Thomas head coach Roger Harriott can mainly thank his defense for the win on Friday night. That’s because the Raiders not only forced five Heritage turnovers but found the end zone on three of them.
“Our defense was just unbelievable out there tonight,” said Harriott. “They did a great job of flying around to the ball and making plays. They never relented.”
And with a passing game that was virtually non-existent (QB Zion Turner only completed 4-of-8 passes for 26 yards), Harriott also was forced to turn to his big offensive line and stud running back Anthony Hankerson.
Hankerson was the ultimate workhorse, grinding out 168 yards on 28 carries which included a 21-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
“Give it up to the O-line. None of this happens tonight if they’re not out there opening up some holes for me,” said Hankerson. “Tonight was important because we wanted to get some momentum heading into the playoffs.”
The Raiders, who are ranked No. 30 nationally (Max Preps), finished their abbreviated regular season 3-1. They will now set out in search of a record 12th state championship and, after enjoying a first-round bye next week, will play on the road at either Lehigh Acres or Sarasota on Nov. 20.
Things could not have started any better for the Raiders as they blew out to a 20-0 lead just a minute into the second quarter.
When Turner was stuffed for no gain from the half yard line on a fourth-and-goal on St. Thomas’ opening possession, the Raiders turned it into a touchdown on the next play anyway.
Heritage quarterback Vinson Davis couldn’t handle a high snap from the shotgun standing in his own end zone. Linebacker Christian Gonzalez fell on the loose ball for a Raider touchdown, the first of those three defensive scores.
“It was just a mindset going out there that it’s all about making plays and we were fortunate enough to make some out there tonight,” said Gonzalez, who also had a sack and five tackles. “You’ve got to give it up for out D-line, they were the ones up front making it easier for the linebackers and defensive backs.
“Winning tonight and beating a team like Heritage was huge because we really needed to bounce back from that Gibbons loss a few weeks ago. I ran into somebody from Gibbons in a Walmart last week and they gave it to me pretty good. I didn’t like that and it got me fired up to come out here and have a big game. Now the playoffs are here and it’s time to roll.”
Following a quick Heritage three-and-out, the Raiders took over at midfield and moved 50 yards in eight plays. Turner took it over from two yards out when he sprinted outside and dove for the pylon and it was 13-0.
Things got worse for Heritage on the next series when, following a timeout, Dylan Romig replaced Davis for one play at quarterback and it turned in to a disaster when a screen pass to running back Mark Fletcher was instead picked off by Kylan Stevens and returned 61 yards for a score.
But the Patriots, who finished their abbreviated regular season 5-2 and will host Palm Bay in a first round play-in game next week, rallied to get right back in the game.
First came a 58 yard touchdown run by Davis who ran a perfectly executed read/option, faking to Fletcher and keeping it around the left side sprinting to the end zone untouched. They trimmed their deficit to 20-14 just 1:10 before halftime when, after a St. Thomas personal foul on a punt return gave then a short field at the Raiders 33, they were in the end zone in just three plays, Fletcher scoring from 12 yards out when Davis pitched to him on an option play at the last second.
When Chris Maron nailed a 23 yard field goal midway through the third, Heritage had cut the St. Thomas lead to three.
That’s when Hankerson answered the call as he led his team on an eight play, 70-yard drive, carrying the ball on six of those plays and finishing it off with that 21-yard score to make it 26-17 with 3:36 left in the third.
When the fourth quarter arrived, it was time for one final curtain call from the defense. On the first play of the quarter, Fletcher coughed up the ball at his own 20. Defensive back Derrieon Craig was right there to scoop it up and rambled 25 yards to the end zone to make it 33-17. Thanks to a blocked punt that gave them the ball at the Aquinas three, Heritage scored on a Davis three-yard keeper with 3:20 left but the two point conversion, which would’ve made it a one possession game failed.
Out of timeouts, Heritage tried an onside kick but failed and the Raiders bled out most of the remaining time.
Said Harriott: “The one thing that takes a lot of time and chemistry to develop is the passing game and when you’re playing a shortened season like we are, you’re going to have to rely on a big offensive line and pound the ball with an Anthony Hankerson. With no spring or summer to work, it’s been a challenge to keep the players in great spirits. I can’t tell you if we’ll ever be fully prepared from a chemistry standpoint but I can tell you that our commanderies and the things that really matter in life are coming to fruition.”
▪ Krop 33, Hialeah High 9: Quarterback Jake Golan led the way with 310 passing passing and three touchdowns. Davin Derival had 175 total yards and two touchdowns. Running back Nehemy Neptune had two rushing touchdowns. DE Timothy Summons had 3 sacks and DT Julius weaver had 2 sacks and 2 TFL’s. Senior Antonio Ferguson led the secondary with 2 big hits and 8 tackles.
▪ St. Brendan 62, Palm Glades 0: Damari Charlton was 4 of 5 passing for 122 yards and three touchdowns; Isaac Brown rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns; Richard Dandridge had two receptions for 91 yards and two touchdowns; Christian Lowry had 48 rushing yards and one touchdown and one fumble recovery; Micheal Caldwell rushed for 52 yards and one touchdown; Carlos Junco had 4 tackles, 2 sacks; Eric Rangel had 7 tackles; Verdieu Guillaume had two tackles, two fumble recoveries and one touchdown.
This story was originally published November 7, 2020 at 12:24 AM.