St. Thomas Aquinas takes early lead; holds off late American Heritage surge

It wasn’t a playoff game, but the intensity on the field Friday night was a prelude of what’s ahead in a few weeks.

Whenever St. Thomas Aquinas and American Heritage face off, it’s always a postseason-like atmosphere.

It was more of the same on Friday night.

In a hard-fought battle, St. Thomas received four field goals from Johnny DiSalvatore, and a defensive touchdown by Donovan Adras to defeat Heritage, 19-12, in a matchup of two defending state champions.

“In these kinds of battles, they’re extremely emotional,” St. Thomas coach Roger Harriott said. “Heritage, regardless of what their record is, it’s like a city championship. A lot of these guys play against each other. There’s a lot of tension.”

In this rivalry, you can throw the records out the window.

St. Thomas improved to 8-1 with its eighth straight victory, and the Class 5A state power has one more regular season game to go. It promises to be another thriller, with Chaminade-Madonna visiting the Raiders next Friday.

The Raiders have been dominant since their 26-23 loss to Mater Dei on Aug. 23 in the Broward County National Showcase, televised on ESPN.

For Heritage (4-5), the loss closes out its regular season. How much the setback hurts the Patriots in the Class 4A district seedings remains to be seen. The top eight teams make it, and Heritage projects to be in the middle of the pack.

“Both teams played extremely tough,” Harriott said. “You can’t really be anything but proud of both teams. Heritage finished strong at the end. We got off to a really good start, and we were able to hold on. That’s what you can expect from these types of games.”

Heritage held St. Thomas to a season-low 19 points, and the Raiders didn’t score an offensive touchdown.

For the Raiders, what they lacked on offense, they made up for with their defense and special teams.

“Our defense and special teams played great,” Harriott said. “Those two phases of the game really came through for us. There are some things we’re going to work on offensively. Last week, it was the other way around.”

A week ago, St. Thomas defeated Monarch, 31-20, and for the most part, the Raiders’ offense has excelled all season.

The Raiders started off Friday aiming to establish the run, and they did so effectively with Virgil Lemons getting a bulk of the carries early. In fact, on its first drive, Lemons had seven carries for 32 yards, but St. Thomas was unable to score.

On its second drive, it was more of Lemons handling the ball, with a reception and three more carries. But it was quarterback Mason Mallory’s 25-yard pass to Jaden Desir to set up DiSalvatore’s 23-yard field goal to open the scoring.

St. Thomas’ defense got into the scoring act when Adras recovered a fumble and ran it back 11 yards for the score, making it 10-0.

The Raiders responded again with Jermiyah Douglas’ interception that set up DiSalvatore’s second field goal.

Halfway through the second quarter, DiSalvatore again booted a field goal, and the Raiders enjoyed a comfortable 16-0 advantage.

St. Thomas’ defense again came up big, with Andre Jones picking off a pass near midfield.

But Heritage returned the favor with Aldarius Johnson giving the Patriots possession with an interception on third down.

This time, Heritage was able to capitalize.

Quarterback Leon Strawder completed two straight passes to Coi Jean-Noel. And on first down, Strawder hooked up with Jamar Denson on a 14-yard touchdown pass play with 12 seconds remaining in the first half.

A two-point conversion attempt, however, failed, and St. Thomas led 16-6 at halftime.

In the third quarter, DiSalvatore’s fourth field goal gave St. Thomas a 19-6 lead.

Heritage threatened, driving deep into Raiders’ territory, but St. Thomas’ Jaden Carey had an interception at the one.

In the fourth quarter, Heritage’s running game received a boost when defensive back Tremaine Mullen took over in the offensive backfield.

“We had a lot of encouragement at the end,” Heritage coach Mike Smith said. “The guys played together at the end. I think we’ll be in a good spot, moving forward.”

Mullen’s 11-yard run helped set up Strawder’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Denson. But the extra point kicking attempt was muffed, trimming St. Thomas lead to 19-12.

“The kids just kept battling,” Smith said. “We, obviously, put ourselves in a hole in the beginning. But we found some stuff, too. We put a DB in at running back, and he did a really good job. I think we’ve got something.”

Heritage had two chances to score late, but were denied on fourth down from the six. And in the closing minute, the Patriots reached St. Thomas’ 31. But on second down, Strawder was sacked, and Wyatt Smith recovered the fumble for the Raiders, sealing the victory.

“We need to do a much better job of executing when the opportunity presents itself,” Harriott said. “I think our defense put us in advantageous positions to put this game away early. We didn’t do that. Again, you’ve got to credit Heritage for their tenacity and desire to win as well.”