Raider Press Box

HALLOWEEN TREAT

Prep poll leader St. Thomas Aquinas (7-0) travels to Lockhart Stadium to meet their long-time nemesis, the Deerfield Beach Bucks (5-2).  The Aquinas-Deerfield Beach all-time series stands at 10 wins and 10 losses.

The McArthur Mustangs arrived at Brian Piccolo Memorial Stadium looking to snap their two game losing streak. No chance for the Mustangs, as the Raiders destroyed an outmatched McArthur squad, 49-7, in a district game.  The victory was the 52nd district win-in-a-row for Aquinas dating back to the 1996 season.

St. Thomas Head Coach, George Smith, recorded his 340 career victory.  The win ensured Aquinas their 19th consecutive trip to the playoffs.

Aquinas scored on their first offensive snap.  QB Jake Rudock rifled a 48 yard TD pass to Rashad Greene down the South sideline for the early lead.

Junior wide receiver Phillip Dorsett scored three touchdowns, one rushing and two receiving.  James White and Lamarcus Joyner added rushing touchdowns as the Raiders built a 42-0 halftime lead.

The mercy rule was in effect at the start of the second half.  Running back Nick Arena powered in for another Raider rushing TD in the third quarter to increase the lead to 49-0.

Linebackers Vinnie Mauro with 5.5 tackles and Garth Jobb with 3.5 tackles lead the Raider defense,  Both Dean Fillichio and John Baglia chipped in with a sack and a tackle-for-loss as St. Thomas held McArthur to six first downs.

Aquinas kicking combo, Mike Palardy and Ben Hopfinger, kicked off nine times with all nine resulting in touchbacks.  The Raiders did not punt in the game.

As the score reached 49-0 and the running game clock sped towards game's end, several McArthur players, as well as, a Mustang coach decided to start trash talking in the Raiders direction.  (Note to McArthur Mustangs: calling out the Raiders is not very effective when you are losing 49-0.)

Deerfield Beach

The Raiders' three remaining regular season games are against playoff-type teams.  First up is Deerfield Beach at Lockhart Stadium.  The Raiders have won 18 consecutive games at Lockhart.

The last time St. Thomas has lost a game was to Deerfield Beach in the 2007 season.

The Bucks feature a spread offense with plenty of athletes and team speed.

Halloween spirits haunt the Bucks and deliver a win to the Raiders' treat bag.  The Raider win streak extends to 32 games in-a-row.

Raider Pressbox Prediction: Raiders by 20

 

STREAKING TOWARD THE PLAYOFFS

Riding Florida High School football's longest current winning streak at 30 straight wins, St. Thomas Aquinas (6-0, 1-0) meets district rival, the McArthur Mustangs (4-2, 0-1), at Brian Piccolo Stadium. A victory for St. Thomas can secure the Raiders a place in the 2009 state playoffs.

Last week's homecoming game against the Miramar Patriots saw the Raiders reach into their offense bag of tricks and pull out a new weapon--the Wildcat formation.  The clash between Broward County's top two teams finished in a 31-6 win for the nationally # 1 ranked Raiders. 

RB, James White was the triggerman in the 'cat.  Early on the formation threw the physical Patriot defense out of their rhythm.  The Pats struggled to defend it, while the Raiders built a 17-0 halftime lead.  White gained 96 yards on 16 carries with a 22-yard TD run.

Junior Quarterback Jake Rudock had three touchdown passes on 10 of 19 for 155 yards.  Rudock's TD passes were a 9-yard pass to Junior WR, Rashad Greene, a 60-yard strike to Junior WR, Phillip Dorsett and a 5-yarder to Senior RB, Nick Arena. The Class of 2011 passer has totaled 17 touchdown passes through six games in 2009.

Junior DB, Marcus Roberson lead the St. Thomas defense with 8.5 tackles with LB Vinnie Mauro adding 4 tackles.

The Raiders continued to benefit from the strong performances of kicking specialists, MPal and BHop, also known as, Michael Palardy and Ben Hopfinger.  The Pal-Hop combination kicked 6 touchbacks, a field goal and added 4 points after touchdown.  Palardy, a University of Tennessee commit, gave the St. Thomas defense great field position with four punts averaging 47.5 yards with a long of 52 yards.  The Patriots average starting field position was their own 22 yard line.

District Play

McArthur started the season 4-0, but have dropped their last two games.  Their first defeat was to South Broward High, a district opponent, by one point.  The Mustangs lost the lead by giving up 12 points in the last two minutes of the heartbreaking loss.

Mustang Coach Mike Zarra is a STA alum and a former assistant coach under current Raider Head Coach George Smith.

Raiders make the homecoming for Mustang's Coach Z. not very much fun.  The Raiders go ugly, early; and put this contest away by the middle of the 3rd quarter.  Aquinas locks up their spot in the playoffs.

The St. Thomas streak continues to 31 and 52 straight district wins.

Raider PressBox Prediction: Raiders by 28

THAT'S WHAT YOU GET

The St. Thomas Aquinas footballers have reached midseason with an unbeaten 5-0 record and a Number 1 national prep ranking.  This week's opponent, the Miramar Patriots, also enter Friday's game at Brian Piccolo Memorial Stadium with a 5-0 2009 season mark.

Aquinas did what was predicted on the road last Friday against Nova with a 56-0 win over a young Titan squad.  A running clock began at the start of the second half. This was the Raiders 51st consecutive district victory, as well as, their 29th consecutive win.

The Raiders struck early and often opening a 42-0 halftime lead as the Titans were no match for the powerful St. Thomas offense and defense.  In the third quarter the Raiders had no offensive possessions, yet they still added 14 points on the scoreboard.

The game featured 3 touchdown passes by QB, Jake Rudock; one to RB, James White and two to WR, Rashad Greene.  Greene has scored at least one touchdown in each of the Raiders' five victories.

Three Raiders had game highlights scoring their first career touchdowns. DL, John Baglia scored on a 20 yard blocked punt return (blocked by Cody Riggs).  Raider long snapper, Danny Adams, fielded a Titan onside kickoff and sprinted in for a 48 yard kickoff return.  While DB, Bryan Johnson recovered a Nova fumble and rumbled 54 yards for the TD and the final margin of victory.

Raider Homecoming

Aquinas meets Miramar in St. Thomas' annual homecoming game at Piccolo Stadium.

If the Raiders were distracted by the homecoming celebration, they have found renewed focus in a news article published after Miramar's win last week.  The bulletin board material provided is a quote by a Miramar player predicting a Patriot victory over Aquinas.

"Our defense is much better than St. Thomas-faster-and I feel like we're a little more dedicated, and determined and hungry.", said the Pats' player. When asked, "Can Miramar win?"  The response, "Yes, no doubt".

There's not enough Patriots to win this battle.  And as the current pop song says " that's what you get for waking up"... the Raiders.  St. Thomas dances to 30 wins-in-a row. 

Raider PressBox Prediction: Raiders 38, Patriots 14

SEASON WITHIN THE SEASON

Tonight, the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders (4-0) face off against their District 16-5A opponent the Nova Titans in the first district contest of the 2009 season for both schools.  The Raiders travel to play at Nova High School Stadium for the first time.

Aquinas is coming off a nationally-televised victory, 42-34, over the Byrnes Rebels at Lockhart Stadium.  The win extended the Raiders' win steak to 28 and solidified their national high school number 1 ranking.

Against Byrnes, the Raiders offense was lead by QB Jake Rudock with a 9 of 17 passing performance for 196 yards and four touchdown passes.  LaMarcus Joyner, Phillip Dorsett, Rashad Greene and James White caught TD passes.  White lead the Aquinas rushing attack with 82 yards on 7 carries. Joyner also scored on a 93 yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter.

On defense, LB Vinnie Mauro recorded 11 tackles and a forced fumble while LB Garth Jobb chipped in with 7 tackles.  DB Cody Riggs blocked a 20 yard field goal attempt after a Raider turnover.

District Play Begins

The Raiders begin district play riding a 50 district winning streak dating back to the 1996 season.  The district win streak is a Florida High School Football record.

Aquinas holds a 12-2 advantage in the all-time series versus the Titans.

Look for the powerful Raiders to begin their "season within the season" with a convincing victory over the Titans and improve their overall record to 5-0 for 2009.

RAIDERS RULE!

Raider Pressbox Prediction: Raiders by 31

RECORD VICTORY

Aquinas' defense, battered and worn down after it was on the field for more than 70 plays, held firm in the waning moments of No. 1-nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas against the visiting No. 2-nationally ranked Byrnes Rebels of South Carolina.

The Raiders may have surrendered a touchdown on the game’s final play, but the points were insignificant. St. Thomas emerged with a 42-34 victory over the nation’s second-ranked team at Lockhart Stadium.

St. Thomas (4-0) bumped the advantage to 14 points at 42-28 with 1:39 remaining when James White scored on a 23-yard pass from Jacob Rudock to cap a seven-play, 66-yard drive in 3:06 .

 

Byrnes, which finished with 558 yards of offense, went into no-huddle mode and methodically moved downfield. Aquinas’ defense limited the Rebels (5-1) to mostly short gains. Chas Dodd, who finished with 416 yards on 26-of-44 passing, completed half of his 10 throws on the drive, none longer than the 24-yard completion to Marc Lattimore to the St. Thomas 39.

 

The bend-but-don’t-break philosophy chewed up the game’s remaining 99 seconds. Finally able to exhale, the Raiders entered the final play with just three seconds remaining and a 14-point advantage. Dodd found Jazz King, who finished with 156 yards on nine receptions, for a 24-yard score as time expired to complete an impressive statistical performance for the Rebels in the losing effort.

 

The game was back-and-forth throughout. Byrnes took the early lead on a 1-yard run by Lattimore just 3:24 into the game. The drive was highlighted by 26-yard run by Lattimore on a fake punt from on a fourth-and-15^th from the Rebels’ 15. The seven-point deficit marked the first time St. Thomas trailed in four games this season and just the third time it trailed in its last 19 games.

 

The Raiders, who saw their first possession end with a missed 49-yard field goal by Michael Palardy, answered with a 52-yard touchdown pass from Rudock to Lamarcus Joyner with 2:34 remaining in the first quarter.

 

Aquinas entered halftime with a 21-7 lead after a 73-yard touchdown pass from Rudock to Phillip Dorsett and a 39-yard fumble return for a score by Kenneth Hankerson. Dorsett’s touchdown, which was replayed several times on ESPN Friday night, featured an acrobatic, Matrix-styled spin on a Rebel defender to propel him from nearly being down near midfield to complete the catch-and-run.

 

The Raiders fumbled on their opening drive of the second half. Byrnes, which failed to capitalize on a similar situation in the first half thanks to a blocked field goal by Cody Riggs, took possession at the Aquinas 28and scored four plays later when Lattimore punched it in from the 2 just 1:46 into the half.

 

Less than six minutes later, St. Thomas scored on a 12-yard pass from Rudock to Rashad Greene to take a 28-14 lead.

 

After Byrnes’ next drive ended on a fumble by Lattimore, one of three the senior lost on the evening, the Rebels scored on their first possession of the fourth quarter -- an 8-yard pass from Dodd to King -- to cut the deficit to 28-21.

 

Byrnes, which kicked away from the speedy Joyner most of the game, finally gave the senior a chance to return a kickoff. And Joyner promptly made the Rebels pay. He took the kick back 93 yards for the score to restore Aquinas’ two-touchdown lead.

 

Dodd found Torian Richardson with a 59-yard touchdown pass on Byrnes’ next possession with 7:58 remaining.

 

The two teams traded possessions before White scored with 1:39 remaining to give St. Thomas its school-record 28^th consecutive victory.