Big second half propels St. Thomas Aquinas to another playoff win over Blanche Ely

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: St. Thomas Aquinas convincingly bounced Blanche Ely from the FHSAA Regional playoffs Friday. The score this time around? 53-32

But unlike the previous two years, the game’s outcome was still in doubt in the fourth quarter.

Aquinas needed a late 60-plus yard kickoff return from sophomore speedster Ah’Mari Stevens to finally put away a resilient Blanche Ely team that wanted to do more Friday than simply close the gap.

After losing to the Raiders in the playoffs by a combined 68 points the previous two years, the Tigers thought this was the year they slayed the dragon.

Their coach Terence McFadden wanted all the smoke, telling the Miami Herald earlier in the season that “if everything stays the course, and if we get there, we’re winning it. We’re beating them. We’re going to get them.”

For a while, he looked prescient.

The Tigers (8-4) led 12-3 after their second possession and went to halftime tied.

But Aquinas (9-3) woke up at the break, scoring three touchdowns in succession to start the third quarter:

Cedric Wyche moved the pile past the goal line from eight yards out -- his second touchdown run of the game -- to open the second half.

Quarterback Andrew Indorf called his own number and scored on a 22-yard run less than two minutes later after a gift turnover from Ely.

And then a big man touchdown on the Tigers’ next drive basically ended any hope.

With Raiders defensive lineman Christian Moreau’s 34-yard scoop and score, the rout was on -- again.

‘We’re the best in South Florida so nobody can mess with us,” Moreau said after his first prep touchdown. “And that’s what we showed today.”

With the win, the Raiders will go on the road to face District 14-5A champion Delray Atlantic (11-1) in the regional final. Atlantic survived Miramar 35-29 Friday night to advance.

”They gonna get it too,” Moreau said. “In a few days, they’re gonna get it.”

As for this weeks’ game in Fort Lauderdale, the first half had everything -- two runs of 40-plus, a fake punt on the minus side of the 50, an interception in the end zone, an interception overturned by pass interference, and a two-minute touchdown drive that changed the game’s entire complexion.

And yet, after all of that, the Tigers and Raiders ended the first half where they began it: Tied.

The action was intense from the opening whistle.

Tigers running back Shawn Paschall busted through the left side of the line and rumbled 87 yards for a touchdown on Ely’s first offensive play. (Paschall, who’s also the Ely punter, later executed a perfect fake to extend the Tigers’ second touchdown drive.)

For the first 24 minutes, it was the Hadley and Paschall Show. Aquinas had no answer for the Ely QB’s speed; Hadley ran for 50 yards in the first half, and used his elusiveness to turn a broken play into a 34-yard touchdown pass to Richard Hollis.

It was Hadley to Hollis again for 11 late in the first half to give the Tigers their third touchdown -- and their final lead of the night.

Aquinas felt like it was on its back foot for most of the first two quarters. But Indorf atoned for an end zone interception by piecing together a five-play, 69-yard touchdown drive just before the break, capped by a 20-yard pass to Branden Hoch.

That was the spark Aquinas needed. The Raiders outscored the Tigers 35-14 the rest of the way.

Asked if the gap with Aquinas is closing, McFadden Friday night said: “It’s closed. We just got to limit those turnovers. We limit those turnovers, that game is flip-flopped.”

That’s a big if, considering the Raiders have for years been beating teams in the fashion they did Friday.

“We make a living off of field position and capitalizing on opportunities, preferably forcing teams to make mistakes or turnovers and just continue to elevate our game from there,” Aquinas coach Roger Harriott said postgame. “But I think our guys are moving in the right direction. You know, we’re grateful that God has provided us safety throughout this game and we’re looking forward to the next round.”