Aquinas rallies for dramatic overtime win over Atlantic to keep state title run alive
Maybe destiny played a role in the outcome of the Class 5A regional final between St. Thomas Aquinas and Delray Beach Atlantic on Friday night.
Maybe it was senior quarterback Andrew Indorf’s leadership and or senior running back Cedric Wyche II having the biggest game of his high school career.
Collectively, everything contributed to the Raiders’ 49-42 comeback victory in double overtime in taking a step closer to a possible state-record sixth consecutive state title.
Aquinas never led until the winning touchdown in the second overtime period.
“We kept our heads up,” Indorf said. “Coach always says when we face adversity, we get motivated on every single down. We played out hearts out and finished. Yes, we make mistakes, but yet we finished the job. We just didn’t want to go home.”
St. Thomas improved to 8-0 all-time in playoff games against Atlantic, while outscoring the Eagles 366-104. The win also extended the Raiders current state record with 28 straight playoff victories.
The Raiders (10-3) will play at Bradenton Manatee in a state semifinal next Friday.
“We often talk about prevailing through adversity,” Aquinas coach Roger Harriott said. “It showed tonight. We stumbled throughout the game. Hats off to Atlantic as they did a great job. We just continued to hang in there. We knew there would be opportunities and to play hard until there was no time left on the clock.”
Indorf completed an 11-yard scoring pass to Ah’mari Stevens in the back of the Atlantic end zone with 32 seconds left in regulation tying the score at 35-35. Aquinas had trailed 35-18 entering the fourth quarter.
The Eagles took a 42-35 lead in their opening half of the first overtime period on an 8-yard scoring pass from senior quarterback Lincoln Graf to Teddy Hoffmann. The Raiders sent the game in the second OT as Indorf threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Stevens. The Raiders started the second overtime at the five-yard line following an Atlantic unsportsmanlike penalty on the Raiders conversion point in the first OT. Stevens scored on the first play for his fourth touchdown of the night.
“We came out in the second half and dominated,” Stevens said. “We didn’t put our hands up. We finished and got the job done.”
A lost fumble on the Eagles third play of the second overtime ended the game. The 42 points allowed was the most in an Aquinas in team history. The Raiders defense sacked Graf five times, including one on the last play of the game.
Indorf finished his night with 270 yards and two touchdowns, with 217 yards coming in the second half. He also surpassed the team record for career passing yards previously held by Zion Turner’s 4,951. Indorf ended the night with 5,216 all-time yards.
Indorf also completed 20 of 25 attempts with the completions also setting the team career record previously held by Turner at 369. Indorf now has 277 career completions.
Atlantic (11-2) jumped to a 20-0 first quarter lead and lead 28-7 despite Stevens first touchdown early in the second quarter. Indorf scored on an eight-yard run just before the half expired cutting the deficit to 28-14. Graf had passed for 3148 yards and 36 touchdowns entering Friday’s game. He added three more scoring passes against Aquinas.
This story was originally published November 30, 2024 at 1:49 AM.