Dwyer Upends St Thomas Aquinas

     The Dwyer Panthers remained unbeaten as they dethroned the defending Class 7A champion St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders 35-28 on Friday night in a regional final at Blum Stadium. It was the second time in three years where the Raiders championship reign was halted by the same school on the same field.
     The Panthers advanced to the state semifinals for the fifth time in six years. After winning four consecutive regional finals between 2008 until 2011, they fell in a regional semifinal at home last year to Boyd Anderson. Dwyer is two games away from winning their second state championship and play at East Lake in a state semifinal next week.
     The Raiders missed the state semifinals for just the second time in the last ten seasons. They had won a regional final every year from 2004 to 2010 and also in 2012. Aquinas will not capture their eighth FHSAA title in school history this season.
     Both teams came out strong during the first quarter. Wide receiver Johnnie Dixon caught a 42-yard touchdown reception on a post pattern from quarterback Daniel Parr at 4:52 for a Dwyer 7-0 lead.
     St. Thomas Aquinas(10-3) responded quickly on their next possession as wide receiver Jawuan Harris finished the drive with an eight-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Wade Freebeck on the right side of the end zone at 2:32 to tie the game 7-7.
    Dwyer(13-0) would retake just prior to the end of the first quarter. Fullback Gerald Hearns busted in from one yard out as he went off-right guard for a Panthers 14-7 lead with 4.6 seconds left.
    On the final play of the first, Raiders wide receiver Corey Holmes caught a 48-yard screen pass and brought the ball deep into Dwyer territory. Running back Madre London received a swing pass to the right on the first play of the second quarter, raced in untouched from 20 yards away and tied it at 14-14 just 15 seconds in.
     Panthers kicker Peyton Shapiro extended Dwyer's margin to 20-14 by halftime. He nailed a 40-yard field goal at 3:05 and booted a 25-yard field goal with 4.6 seconds to go in the first half.
     Aquinas wasted no time to begin the second half as they scored on their first drive. They took their first lead of the game 21-20 at 10:20 when Freebeck connected with Devante Peete on 36-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline.
     On the Panthers next drive, Dixon concluded it with a 66-yard TD reception on a fly pattern at 7:18. They took a chance as they went for a two-point conversion and Parr found Dixon in the middle of the end zone to increase their margin back to seven points 28-21.
     STA came back to tie the game for the third time at 28-28 with 5:20 remaining in the third quarter. Running back Deltron Sands went around the left end on a rushing attempt, sprinted down the left sideline and scored from 15 yards away.
     The game was not decided until the final minute of the fourth quarter as Dwyer slowed marched down the field with the ball during their final possession. The key play of the drive was a 4th-and-10 at the Raiders 26-yard line where wide receiver Ezra Saffold caught a 15-yard pass on a crossing route for a first down with just over one minute to go. Three plays later, Parr scored on a one-year quarterback sneak with 40.5 seconds left as he followed center Jordan Sylvestre through the line of scrimmage for a 35-28 lead.