St. Thomas Aquinas moves closer to another district crown with rout of McArthur
St. Thomas Aquinas reminded everyone over the last month that it can win pretty.
On Friday, the Raiders showed they have no problem winning ugly too.
Roger Harriott’s nationally-ranked outfit didn’t have it’s A-game against McArthur Friday. But it did have Virgil Lemons, a feisty defense, and a second-half surge. That was more than enough for a 31-7 road win against a wounded Mustangs team that more than held its own.
Lemons, a junior who has already drawn offers from Power 5 schools Arkansas, Illinois and Indiana, was a wrecking ball early.
Dual-threat senior quarterback Mason Mallory was lights out late, throwing second-half touchdowns to Leroy “Levi” Thomas and Julius Jones.
And by busting through the line for a 43-yard touchdown sprint early in the fourth, senior tailback Morris Choice not only put the game away, he put the Raiders (4-1, 2-0 15-5A) on the verge of yet another district title.
Did St. Thomas need a game like that?
“You always do,” Harriott said. “It’s a test of your character and perseverance, to see where your team improved. You can see where your deficiencies are. Both teams learned a lot from this game.”
The final score was lopsided. But the action for much of the night was not.
The Mustangs (2-2, 0-1) showed admirable resilience in a first half that, due to injury, saw four different McArthur players line up under center.
Starting quarterback Javarius Robinson, the engine that powers the Mustangs’ offense, suffered an ugly lower leg injury when he was tackled on a scramble on McArthur’s second drive. He did not return to the game.
That forced McArthur coach Alex Barron to get creative. Instead of turning to just one backup, he played three: QB2 Andrew Stickney, running back Kenson Louis, and Swiss army knife Stone Strokin.
Strokin was under center for the Mustangs’ lone first-half touchdown. He started a double-reverse that ultimately ended in the end zone, via a 15-yard touchdown run by wide receiver Damarius Higgs.
The touchdown was a shot across the bow to the Raiders: The Mustangs had come to play.
And they trailed by just three at the break, holding 14th-ranked St. Thomas to a 22-yard field goal by Johnny DiSalvatore and a three-yard touchdown run by the dynamic Lemons, who ripped off gains of 33 and 19 yards on St. Thomas’ scoring drive.
Credit McArthur’s defense for keeping the loaded Raiders in check for the first 24 minutes. But eventually, talent usually wins out.
Thanks to Friday’s win and the Raiders’ 72-6 thrashing of Boyd Anderson in Week 2, Aquinas can clinch yet another playoff berth with a home win over Hollywood Hills in two weeks.
St. Thomas is rarely judged by the regular season – even with late-season Broward bragging rights games against American Heritage and Chaminade-Madonna. The playoffs are where legacies are made.
That doesn’t mean an early-season rivalry game didn’t have juice. A handshake line dispute between Aquinas and McArthur players turned into a series of mini-skirmishes that included both students and staffs.
“Sometimes, coaches and players get emotional about the game,” Harriott said. “Cooler heads have to perform. .. It was a very intense game. Obviously, they have a solid team and I’m sure we’ll be seeing them later on in the playoffs.”