Cooper City Takes District Over Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas was looking for another district title, however they were shocked and lost the District 15-7A crown to Cooper City 21-16 at Brian Piccolo Stadium on Friday night. As the district champion, the Cowboys will host a first round playoff game against Miami Beach while the Raiders, district runner-up, won't play a home playoff game for the first time since 1996. Cooper City(9-0, 5-0) had not beaten St. Thomas Aquinas(7-2, 4-1) since 1972. Both teams met in the Class 5A regional semifinal in 2010 where the Raiders handled the Cowboys 49-7. Midway through the first quarter, Gavin Sinclair returned a punt 51 yards to the Cowboys 22. Nolan Bieck kicked a 36-yard field goal three plays later with 4:23 left. Momentum changed with eight minutes remaining in the first half. Bieck had a 43-yard field goal blocked at the line of scrimmage by Justin Ingram, then Camden Krohn picked up the loose ball at his own two-yard line, found a wall of blockers in front of him and ran down the sideline for a 98-yard touchdown and a 7-3 lead. Aquinas responded on their next possession as Fred Coppet capped the drive with a seven-yard run with 4:00 left to regain the lead 10-7. Cooper City commanded the third quarter scoring off two St. Thomas Aquinas turnovers. Tyson Burch intercepted a pass and returned it 26 yards to the Raiders 5. Krohn went up the middle for the score one play later at 2:13. Max Lescano fumbled on a pitch play on the Raiders next drive and Jordan Mornay took the ball back ten yards for a score and a Cowboys 21-10 lead. Lescano was replaced by John O'Korn, but the Raiders were only able to garner one touchdown in the final 13 minutes of the game. Mark Barr caught an eight-yard pass with 2:31 to go in the fourth quarter, but the two-point conversion was no good. St. Thomas Aquinas lost their second home game this season, something they have not done in over 15 years. The Raiders open up the postseason at American High School of Miami in two weeks.