The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders travel up to Bradenton to take on the Braden River Pirates on Friday night in a Class 7A state semifinal. The last time the Raiders lost a playoff game in Central Florida was in 2009 at Bradenton against the Manatee Hurricanes in the same round of the postseason.
St. Thomas Aquinas only lost one game this season by just three points and has surrendered seven points in the first half of their three playoff games this year. They shut out the Royal Palm Beach Wildcats 29-0 in a regional quarterfinal, went on the road to defeat the Dwyer Panthers 24-7 in a regional semifinal and returned home to wipe out Mater Academy 60-7 in a regional final last week.
The Raiders, the defending Class 7A state champions, have University of Florida commit and quarterback Jake Allen at the helm of the offense. The school has a well-balanced attack of running and passing. Running backs James Charles and Jaxson Kincaide can be used at anytime for a rushing attempt. Allen has a strong wide receiver core with Sam Bruce, Michael Irvin Jr., Trevon Grimes, James Jenkins and Michael Harley.
Braden River enters this game undefeated and had a playoff run in which they were victorious over Gulf Coast, Venice and Plant City. They have given more than l5 points in only two games this year.
The Pirates have starting quarterback and FIU commit Jacob Huesman to lead the team on offense. He can throw short passes to wide receivers Travis Williams, Jawaan Jenkins, Dexter Hodo and Ryan Neuzil. Huesman can set up screen plays with running backs Raymomd Thomas, Jaylin Austin and Deshaun Fenwick who will also get their rushing opportunities.
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