St. Thomas Aquinas Escapes Plantation

    The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders captured the District 15-7A championship with a 16-6 road win over the Plantation Colonels at PAL Field on Friday night. The Raiders, who won their 16th district title in the last 17 years, will host a regional quarterfinal at Brian Piccolo Stadium against Miami Springs in two weeks. The Colonels had their five-game winning streak snapped and will play at American in a rematch from the FHSAA playoffs last season on November 15.
    Plantation(7-2, 3-1) commanded the entire first half as they controlled time of possession during the first two quarters. The Colonels took the lead at 5:19 of the second quarter as running back Markel Yarborough went around the right end from 14 yards away for a 6-0 lead. An attempted extra point became an adventure when holder/quarterback Chris Lammons was unable to put the ball down, rolled out to his left, threw a lob pass to the left back corner of the end zone where wide receiver Josh Joseph could not bring in the reception toward his body.
    St. Thomas Aquinas(8-1, 4-0) had it best drive of the first half on their final possession as they moved the ball to the Colonels three-yard line. STA had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Zachary Cicero with 47.7 seconds to go in the second quarter.
    The Raiders made adjustments as they entered into the second half and scored on their first drive. It was set up by a 24-yard catch near the left sideline by wide receiver Devante Peete on a 3rd-and-11 from the Plantation 34. One play later, quarterback Wade Freebeck scrambled toward the right side and scored from 10 yards out at 7:01. Cicero made the extra point and St. Thomas Aquinas had their first lead of the game 10-6.
    STA capitalized on a turnover at 7:14 of the fourth quarter when cornerback Natrone Barnes intercepted a pass at midfield from Plantation backup quarterback Archie Banton and returned it to the Colonels 47-yard line. Running back Deltron Sands capped the possession on a 4th-and-8 as he caught a screen pass on the left side and dashed 30 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown with 3:42 remaining. Cicero missed the extra point and the scored stayed at 16-6.