St. Thomas Aquinas dominates Lakeland to extend state-record title streak to six in a row
They weren’t nationally-ranked.
They lost three games in a season for the first time in seven seasons. This included frustrating defeats against fellow Broward County powerhouses they hadn’t lost to in decades or ever.
They had to come back from late-game deficits on the road just to make it back home for another state final.
Clearly, it was not a typical St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders football season.
But the finish sure was.
The Raiders put the ups and downs of an often tumultuous 2024 campaign behind them by capping it with a dominant triumph worthy of a special place in their rich tradition after they dominated Lakeland for a 34-0 shutout win in the Class 5A state championship game Thursday night at Pitbull Stadium at FIU.
“We saw it coming,” Aquinas starting quarterback Andrew Indorf said. “Coach (Roger) Harriott said we would dominate from start to finish. If you would have seen us in the locker room before the game, you would have seen this coming. We just needed it. They got comfortable, but we needed it and we worked through all our adversity and finished the job.”
With said victory, Aquinas (12-3) extended its state-record streak of state titles to six in a row.
The Raiders have won 30 consecutive playoff games and avenged its last playoff loss, which came in the 2018 Class 7A state final against Lakeland.
Aquinas beat the previously unbeaten Dreadnaughts (14-1) for only the second time in seven all-time meetings in the state finals. The Raiders also won their state-best 16th state championship while denying Lakeland what would have been its 10th.
Aquinas coach Roger Harriott also moved up in the record books with his ninth state title, which includes eight at St. Thomas and one at his previous job as NSU University School’s coach. Harriott has the most state titles of any coach in Broward County history and is tied for second in state history with Jacksonville Trinity Christian’s Verlon Dorminey (9) and only behind former Jacksonville Bolles’ coach Charles “Corky” Rogers (10).
“It enhances the faith and belief of our players when we tell them to keep their eyes and focus on the prize and allow God to plan things out,” Harriott said. “Sometimes it can be tough and frustrating but when you have faith and belief, God’s plan is always greater than our own.
“It’s been a playoff run of resilience.”
The run Harriott referred to included a comeback from a 28-7 deficit against Delray Beach Atlantic in the regional final and a 13-6 second-half deficit last week in the state semifinals at Bradenton Manatee.
During the regular season, losses to Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna and Plantation American Heritage allowed doubts to creep for many who wondered if this was the year the Raiders fell from the mountaintop.
That speculation never reached the Raiders’ locker room.
“When we faced adversity, we just continued to work,” Indorf said. “They said we couldn’t finish in our three losses, and we just wanted to prove them wrong.”
Indorf completed 13 of 19 passes for 159 yards, one touchdown and one interception and ran for another score.
But it was Aquinas’ dominance up front on both sides of the ball, which sparked the rout.
On the same field where it lost to Chaminade nearly two months earlier, the Raiders’ offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage allowing Chance Washington to roll up yards and points. Washington, a transfer from American Heritage, led the ground game with 70 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.
“We’ve been talking about it for a while with our offensive and defensive line, especially our o-line people thought wasn’t a strong point of ours. But we had a fire in our hearts to win this championship,” Washington said.
Lakeland ran effectively on the game’s first four plays, picking up 48 yards and moving into Aquinas territory. That drive, however, ended with a loss on downs. The Dreadnaughts would not possess the ball in Raiders’ territory again until recovering a fumble with 5:04 left in the third quarter and Aquinas ahead 20-0.
Travares Daniels, a Maryland signee, led the way with 11 tackles including one for loss while Lantz Pascal recovered a fumble. Lakeland’s last best chance at a comeback ended when Zayden Gamble intercepted quarterback Zander Smith and returned it 78 yards to set up Washington’s second rushing touchdown. Jaden Carey also had an interception.
“Lakeland has a great tradition of running the ball and if you’re not careful they can run you right out of the stadium,” Harriott said. “We bent at times but didn’t break. We flew around and created chaos in the backfield. Our trenches on both sides did a great job and special teams kept us in exceptional field position. Our offense helped establish a great momentum win.”
Class 2A state championship - Cocoa 38, Havana Gadsden County 27: Led by quarterback Brady Hart and receiver Jayvan Boggs, Cocoa won its third consecutive state title and seventh overall.
Hart, a senior who decommitted from Michigan a few weeks ago and committed to Texas A&M, completed 23-of-31 passes for 259 yards and one touchdown while Boggs, who needed 140 yards to break the all-time single season receiving record in the state of Florida, came up 28 yards short, catching six balls for 112 yards and one touchdown.
Boggs, a Florida State commit and winner of the Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Florida award last season as the top player in the state, finished the season with 99 catches for 2,132 yards and 21 touchdowns.
The key moment in the game came with 2:15 left and Cocoa, leading 31-27. Faced with a fourth-and-two at the Gadsden 42, Cocoa coach Ryan Schneider went for it. Running back Larrison Lane broke loose down the far sideline for a 42 yard touchdown to wrap things up.
Cocoa finished 11-3 while Gadsden County, which defeated Miami Booker T. Washington in the semifinal and was making its championship game debut, finished 13-2.
BILL DALEY
This story was originally published December 13, 2024 at 9:09 AM.
