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-15th 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 28th consecutive victory.
