Zion Turner, Anthony Hankerson lead St. Thomas Aquinas ‘machine’ into another title game
For the better part of the last 40 years, St. Thomas Aquinas has felt like a factory and this team is yet another example.
Zion Turner sums it up well.
“We’re a machine,” the star quarterback said. “We just keep adding parts.”
Look no further than the Class 7A semifinals for an example: Five players ran for at least 40 yards, star sophomore James Madison II broke out with four catches for 64 yards after having just three for 23 in the Raiders’ first 13 games and St. Thomas Aquinas (13-1) cruised to a 45-7 rout of Gainesville Buchholz even as star wide receiver Camden Brown, who signed with the Auburn Tigers on Wednesday, was sidelined by a shoulder injury.
In the last two years, St. Thomas Aquinas has graduated seven blue-chip prospects plus 13 others who went on to play in Power 5 conferences and still the Raiders are on the brink of a third straight state title. They’ll try to complete the second three-peat in program history Friday in Fort Lauderdale when they face Tampa Bay Tech at 7 p.m. in the 7A title game at DRV PNK Stadium.
“We’re ready to win our third state championship in a row,” Turner said. “We’ve got guys that are ready to compete, we’ve still got guys that haven’t even displayed their best on the field yet, so we’re just ready to go out and do our best.”
Last year, St. Thomas Aquinas made history with its 12th state championship, breaking a tie with Jacksonville Bolles for the most in Florida High School Athletic Association history. The Raiders have completed a three-peat one other time in program history — from 2014-2016 — yet this one is unique.
As much as St. Thomas Aquinas’ roster has changed every year, the spine of the offense has remained the same. Turner took over as the Raiders’ starter in 2019 and guided them to a state title in Daytona Beach with he and star running back Anthony Hankerson forming a devastating read-option tandem. They both came back as juniors in 2020 and helped St. Thomas Aquinas break Bolles’ record, then came back again this year to lead the national power one last time.
Turner, who was a finalist for the Nat Moore Trophy, is better than ever, particularly as a passer. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior has gone 121 of 180 for 1,996 yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions this year, to go along with 316 rushing yards and 11 more touchdowns. His completion percentage, passing yards and yards per attempt are all career bests, with his yards per attempt up by 3.8 from last season.
As Turner has developed into a more complete passer, Hankerson’s role has actually shrunk — he still has 931 yards and 19 touchdowns on 154 carries in 14 games, but he averaged 21.4 carries per game last year — but he has embraced being a piece in the machine.
“It’s great to have some help,” Hankerson said with a big smile after St. Thomas Aquinas blew out Buchholz on Dec. 3 at Brian Piccolo Stadium.
Said Turner: “We came into St. Thomas, just eighth graders coming into a team with crazy talent and we worked our butt off, and got to where we are now and to share the spotlight with him — that’s a great thing.”
With those two as the foundation and the Raiders constantly replenishing a supporting cast of four-star recruits around them, St. Thomas Aquinas is in the middle of perhaps its best stretch ever. The Raiders have won 36 of their last 38 games, finished the 2019 season as the No. 5 team in the nation and are now No. 11 in MaxPreps’ rankings — and would maybe be playing for a national title this weekend if they hadn’t lost by three at Tampa Jesuit in September.
Last year, St. Thomas Aquinas coaches dubbed Turner and Hankerson, “Fred and Lamont,” because they were always bickering like the father-son duo from “Sanford and Son.” This year, coach Roger Harriott joked they’re, “Turner and Hooch,” and, quite frankly, Turner doesn’t understand why.
In Fort Lauderdale, they’re crafting a legacy all their own and they know a win against Titans (14-0) would be the perfect way to cap it.
“It would be,” Harriott said, “an outstanding exclamation point.”
