St. Thomas Aquinas rolls past Western; game called late due to medical emergency
St. Thomas Aquinas on Thursday night showed signs of what kind of team it can be by the end of the season. When it all comes together, the Raiders should once again seriously challenge for the Class 3M state championship.
Against a highly-competitive Western team, the Raiders were tested. But they were boosted by a fast start, and strong production from quarterback Andrew Indorf, and rolled to a 48-22 home victory.
Indorf threw for 190 yards and a touchdown, and ran for another score. Justin Montgomery rushed for two touchdowns, and Nicholas Romero kicked two field goals for the Raiders, who improved to 3-1.
“They’re a great team,” St. Thomas coach Roger Harriott said. “We were able to take advantage of some opportunities early. We need to do a better job of finishing strong.”
Indorf, a first-year starter, had the offense rolling by the second half. The junior connected with James Madison on a 28-yard touchdown pass play that provided a 34-16 cushion with 34 seconds left in the third quarter.
“We got a fast start, and then we started slow in the second quarter,” Indorf said. “I should have kept some balls that I had. We got stopped on our goal line twice, which should have been six points instead of just three. We’ve got to work on that.”
Jordan Lyle finished with 71 yards rushing and 56 yards receiving for St. Thomas, Stacy Gage ran 18 yards for a touchdown to make the score 41-22.
“It’s a work in progress,” Harriott said. “We’re a little inexperienced, but we improve week-to-week. I thought our coaches did a great job of parenting them and coaching them to be great players, but more importantly, better people.”
Western fell to 1-2, but the Class 4M squad has time to straighten its season out.
The Wildcats also received a terrific performance from quarterback Davi Belfort, who ran for three touchdowns. The Western QB and Virginia Tech commit had 121 yards passing and 131 yards rushing.
In the first quarter, Belfort scored on a 14-yard rush play, which trimmed St. Thomas’ lead to 14-7.
In the third quarter, Belfort broke loose on an 89-yard TD run, and later in the quarter, his 1-yard touchdown made the score 34-22.
St. Thomas capped the scoring with 4:43 remaining on Jeremiyah Douglas’ 70-yard interception return for a touchdown.
In the closing minutes, with St. Thomas driving with its reserves on the field, a medical incident arose on the Western sidelines.
The player received treatment from paramedics, as the game was abruptly stopped with 1:38 remaining.
An emergency vehicle arrived at the scene. Players from both teams huddled separately. Minutes later, there was relief as the player stood up, and positioned himself on the stretcher, as the crowd applauded.
It is believed the player dealt with dehydration.
“I don’t want to speculate on medical [conditions],” Western coach Adam Ratkevich said. “He was taken care of on the sidelines. They got to him immediately, and it appears everything is going to be alright.”
Many of the players on both teams prayed together and embraced each other in a subdued postgame setting.
“Coaches, players, everybody rallied together for the best interests of that kid,” Harriott said. “That’s what this whole experience should really be about. You compete on the football field, but when there’s somebody in need, the human response should be to come together as a family. It was nice to see that happen.”