High School Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders

[wadc45]

Aquinas unveils Wildcat, routs Miramar 31-6 - Broward High Schools - MiamiHerald.com

BY JEFF SHAIN
Miami Herald Writer

File this under news upcoming St. Thomas foes -- heck, the rest of the state -- didn't necessarily want to hear. The nation's No. 1 team has a new weapon to play with.

Hello, Wildcat.

Seeking to perk up a rushing attack slow to find its gear against Miramar, the Raiders unveiled their version of the retro-modern package that helped turn Friday night's clash of Broward County's two best teams into a 31-6 romp.

James White picked up 85 of his team-best 98 yards as the Raiders' Wildcat triggerman, including a 21-yard TD jaunt on its first series and a 50-yard

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[Smith]

MiamiHerald.com

Ely eyes St. Thomas Aquinas upset
Ely, the only team to stay within a touchdown of St. Thomas Aquinas the last two seasons, believes it can shock the Raiders on Friday night.
BY MANNY NAVARRO
[email protected]

Growing up in a family of coaches, Blanche Ely's Rodney Gray learned early in life that "in order to be a winner, you must first believe that you are a winner."

There might not be a soul in South Florida -- outside his locker room -- that believes his Tigers (11-1) will beat the nation's No. 1-ranked team, St. Thomas Aquinas (12-0) in Friday night's Region 4-5A final. But there also won't be a player who puts on a green and orange Ely uniform this week that believes they can't.

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[Smith]

MiamiHerald.com

Posted on Friday, 12.04.09
REGION 4-5A FINAL | ST. THOMAS AQUINAS AT BLANCHE ELY, FRIDAY, 7:30 P.M.
St. Thomas Aquinas faces Blanche Ely in Region 4-5A football playoffs final
The defense for No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas will have its hands full against Blanche Ely quarterback Michael German.

BY MANNY NAVARRO
[email protected]

St. Thomas' Garth Jobb and Dorian Grant pressure quarterback Chas Dodd in the second quarter against Byrnes at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderale on Friday, Oct. 2, 2009.
JOE RIMKUS JR. / MIAMI HERALD STAFF


Dorian Grant didn't need to pick up a newspaper this week or even listen to coach George Smith after practice Thursday to know he and his St. Thomas Aquinas teammates are being hunted by the Blanche Ely Tigers.

Grant, a senior defensive end for the nation's No. 1-ranked Raiders (12-0), has been hearing about the Tigers (11-1) and their quest to end Aquinas' championship run since school began.


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[Smith]

MiamiHerald.com

Posted on Tuesday, 12.08.09
Miramar, Aquinas aiming for state finals
By ANDRE C. FERNANDEZ
[email protected]

...
* Class 5A state semifinal -- St. Thomas Aquinas (13-0) at Bradenton Manatee (12-1), 7:30 p.m., Friday: Had it not been for the Aquinas' secondary, the weekend's headlines might have had Ely in the national spotlight. But Keion Payne and Marcus Roberson kept the Aquinas' train on the track to state with two clutch interceptions.

Aquinas coach George Smith keeps his team respecting every opponent it faces, and this week will be no different. Manatee is coached by one of the state's best in Joe Kinnan, who won four state titles from 1983 to 1992, and has a solid team capable of putting another scare in the defending national champions.

Manatee lost to Aquinas in the state semifinals in 2005 and 2006. But after last week's close call against Ely, look for Aquinas -- a team experienced at handling road trips -- to set up another trip to Orlando. Prediction: St. Thomas Aquinas 35, Manatee 21.

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[Smith]

HeraldTribune.com

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS RAIDERS AT MANATEE HURRICANES
Published: Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 3:53 p.m.

7:30 p.m., Hawkins Stadium, Bradenton

Last week in the regional finals, Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas defeated Pompano Beach Blanche Ely, 34-26, after trailing at halftime for the Region 4 title. Manatee traveled across the state to Palm Bay and knocked off Bayside, 31-14, for the Region 3 title.

Previously in the playoffs, the Raiders (13-0) coasted past Coral Springs, 66-8, and South Broward, 63-0. The Hurricanes (12-1) defeated St. Petersburg Gibbs, 52-12, and St. Petersburg, 21-7.

St. Thomas Aquinas is searching for its third straight Class 5A title and second consecutive national title. In 2007, the Raiders topped Kissimmee Osceola, 35-20. Last year, they crushed Lakeland, 56-7. St. Thomas Aquinas was the state runner-up in 2004, ?05 and ?06.

The Raiders are 4-0 on the road. For the season, they have outscored their opponents, 582-98.

...
St. Thomas Aquinas is more impressive through the air with 10 different players who have receiving touchdowns. WR Rashad Greene has 27 receptions for 467 yards and 10 touchdowns. WR Phillip Dorsett has 26 catches for 532 yards and seven scores.

Greene also has three of the Raiders? five punt returns for scores. His longest has gone for 73 yards.

WR Lamarcus Joiner returned three of his seven kickoff returns for touchdowns, including a 99-yarder.

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[Flocka]

STA is losing 28-20 to Manatee. In the 3rd quarter they had only 13 yards of total offense. Joyner has 2 fumbles. Dorsett scored two of their touchdowns but Manatee recoverd the onside kick after STA made it 28-20.

 

[billmac91]

on TV?

 

[Flocka]

on TV?

Perhaps in south Florida but not in Orlando.

 

[Flocka]

37 game winning streak over. Manatee will meet Plant in the title game who shut out Lakeland.

 

[LightningRod]

'Canes shock No. 1 Aquinas


Interesting comments:

With the Raiders in press coverage, playing without a safety, Blakely found Sanders for a 40-yard touchdown alone behind the St. Thomas Aquinas defense.
?I knew that all game,? Sanders said. ?I told the coaches to give me a chance over the top. They knew I could beat them. We just had to wait.?
?We watched film on them,? Carnes said. ?They couldn?t really cover the deep balls. With our athletes, like Ace and Mike and everybody, we knew we could go down field.?

 

[Smith]

Sun-Sentinel.com

St. Thomas has a dozen football players who have already made commitments
National Signing Day just 8 days away
By Dave Brousseau
January 25, 2010

The suspense has been let out of the closet a long time ago.

A huge chunk of this year's prized senior football players have already spilled the beans to which college they prefer to play for. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if a percentage of them have their bags packed already.

That's even before the ink dries on National Signing Day (Feb. 3). Do we need to be reminded that's only eight days away?

So what now?

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[Smudger]