Juniors Anthony Hankerson, Zion Turner (a.k.a. ‘Fred and Lamont’) lead STA’s new dynasty
There’s an art to the read option. The running back has to know when the ball has been in his chest long enough to take it. The quarterback has to trust his running back not to pull the ball away when he wants to run. They both have to watch the defense and trust the other knows what they’re thinking.
Zion Turner and Anthony Hankerson do not always look like this in practice.
“Our coaches call them Fred and Lamont, from ‘Sanford and Son,’” coach Roger Harriott said. “They’re constantly arguing.”
They were also the basis of Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas’ 11th state championship last year and the Raiders’ record-setting 12th on Saturday.
Only juniors, they’ll go into 2021 with the plan to three-peat.
“It’s great to get another championship,” Turner said. “We’re looking forward to winning another one.”
Hankerson ran for 181 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries, and Turner added 41 yards on seven carries, plus 113 yards on 8-of-13 passing. St. Thomas Aquinas’ offense didn’t erupt against Orlando Edgewater on Saturday, but it did just enough to beat Edgewater in the state championship for the second straight year and deliver the Raiders a record 12th state title with a 31-21 victory.
The win this year played out similarly to the 2019 title game. The Eagles bottled up St. Thomas Aquinas in the first half — except for Hankerson. The Raiders fed the star running back throughout the first two quarters and Saturday he rewarded them with two touchdowns. Edgewater had no choice but to focus in on the tailback and lanes opened up for Turner to make plays with his legs, too.
Last year, they combined for 262 yards on 38 carries to deliver a five-point win in Orlando, and then scholarship offers started pouring in. Turner landed offers from teams like the Miami Hurricanes and LSU Tigers. Hankerson landed one from Miami, too.
“We knew what we were capable of,” Turner said, “both of us.”
The Raiders had the vision, too. When the two got to St. Thomas Aquinas as freshmen, the coaches paired them up as workout partners for preseason conditioning. As freshmen, they waited and learned, and then the Raiders turned the offense over to them as sophomores.
They spent every lunch period in Harriott’s offense, learning the playbook and hoping to end St. Thomas Aquinas’ two-year championship drought. At practice, they’d try to perfect their timing, and the sounds of their voices chirping back and forth became a fixture.
“Most of the time it’s just stupid stuff, like messing with each other during the play,” Turner said, “saying, Oh, I should’ve gave it to you, or he’ll be like I should’ve pulled.’”
When practice ended, they’d head over to one of their houses to play video games, chill and talk about girls.
“It’s their chemistry,” Harriott said. “They understand each other. Certain personalities, the universe pulls together and it’s just a match made in heaven, and that’s what they are and as a result of it they bring so many people — beyond our football program — together.”
Even after hoisting a championship trophy for the second time, they couldn’t stop bickering.
Who won more in little league? “We won!” they both shout in unison and then Turner clarifies. “We won one, y’all won the second one.”
Who wins more when they play each other in Madden NFL? “He can’t beat me in Madden,” Turner says. Hankerson, though, has a fair retort, though. “I beat him in FIFA!”
Their methods have worked since the day they stepped on campus and now they have the Raiders in the throes of another potential dynasty.
“We fight, we argue, we do everything, we make up. It don’t even matter,” Hankerson said. “That’s my boy. I love my boy.”
Said Turner: “We mess around all day in practice. We love each other and that’s what great teammates do. You joke around, but, at the end of the day, you love each other.”
