FORT LAUDERDALE – This one was quite easy.
Almost everyone who follows high school football in the state of Florida knew before the season started that the Class 7A state champion would be St. Thomas Aquinas.
Almost everyone who follows high school football was resoundingly right.
St. Thomas Aquinas (14-1) stormed right by Tampa Bay Tech (14-1) in its 42-14 win last night, so much so that the 7A state title game went into running clock mode throughout the fourth quarter.
Raiders senior running back Anthony Hankerson led the way with 11 carries for 117 yards and three rushing touchdowns, two of which came in the first quarter.
The best play of this game may have come by way of Hankerson’s 30-yard burst for a score with 8:05 left in the first quarter, which gave the Raiders a 6-0 lead over the Titans.
Hankerson’s next score was a 4-yarder in the end zone at the 3:42 mark.
Raiders senior quarterback Zion Turner helped out by adding in a two-point conversion run that extended his team’s lead to 14-0.
And to close out the first quarter, Turner used his legs to get a 1-yard rushing touchdown at the 49-second mark.
By the end of the first quarter, St. Thomas Aquinas was up 21-0.
The second quarter slowed down a bit, as Tampa Bay Tech got on the scoreboard.
Titans junior quarterback Xavione Washington (21-for-34 passing, 249 yards, one touchdown, and one interception) found senior athlete Greg Gaines III (11 catches, 131 yards – both game highs) for a 7-yard touchdown at the 9:25 mark.
An extra point cut the St. Thomas Aquinas lead to 21-7. But Tampa Bay Tech would get no closer than that the rest of the way.
Here’s why:
Turner used his arm later in the second quarter to find senior wide receiver and Auburn signee Camden Brown for a 21-yard touchdown with 5:33 left in the half.
An extra point by sophomore kicker Michael Kern extended the St. Thomas Aquinas lead to 28-7, which stood at halftime.
The third quarter was all St. Thomas Aquinas as Turner threw his second touchdown pass of the game, this time to junior wide receiver Isaiah Hardge for a 21-yarder to the end zone at the 5:50 mark.
Kern’s extra point gave St. Thomas Aquinas a 35-7 lead.
The final touchdown of the game for St. Thomas Aquinas was by Hankerson, who brought it home with a 16-yarder to the end zone at the 2:23 mark.
Kern’s fourth and final extra point made the running clock possible, with St. Thomas Aquinas taking a 42-7 lead.
The final score of the game was a 1-yard touchdown run with 8:42 left by senior running back Ronald Sims.
For St. Thomas Aquinas, Turner finished the game completing 10 of his 13 passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns, while adding seven carries for 65 yards and another score on the ground.
Turner’s leading receiver was senior tight end and LSU signee Mason Taylor, who finished with four catches and 54 yards. Taylor’s longest play went for 25 yards.
“We went out in a good way,” Taylor said. “We put a lot of work in, week by week. We’ve been really grinding for this moment, and it paid off.”
Hankerson spoke on his performance and how his team won yet another state title.
“We came out here filled with emotions”, Hankerson told Kenly Napoleon of PMO Sports. “We knew in this game we had to come out just a little bit more differently. We all played as one. We competed and we took the fight right out this team…We started fast and finished even better.”
St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Roger Harriott reflected on his team’s 7A playoff journey, which ended in a three-peat and the program’s 13th overall state title.
“It’s by God’s grace,” Harriott said. “I know a lot of people say that, but it really is. We’re very prayerful. We run this thing like it’s a ministry. And our players do a really good of establishing a faith-based family. That’s really how we got it done in a difficult time.”
