St. Thomas Aquinas At Venice Preview

     It is a rematch from last year as the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders meet the Venice Indians on Friday night in a Class 7A state semifinal. They faced each other during the same round in Fort Lauderdale last season and the Raiders were victorious 46-8.
     St. Thomas Aquinas(11-2) is the defending three-time FHSAA Class 7A state champions and have not lost a game held in Central Florida since Manatee in 2009. It will be the 11th time in the last 14 seasons that the Raiders will play in a state semifinal. STA hosted their last three playoff games and had no problems. Aquinas destroyed South Miami 56-0 in a regional quarterfinal, blasted West Broward 38-7 in a regional semifinal and downed Doral Academy 48-6 last week in a regional final. They have outscored their opponents 398-99 this season and averaged 30 points for and seven points against per game.
     The Raiders can run or pass the ball on any occasion. Running back Daniel Carter is expected to get his share of carries along with Nigel White. They have a slew of wide receivers that includes Elijah Moore, Teriq Phillips, Tavares Kelly and Cole Caterbone. Derek Wingo has filled in at quarterback for Curt Casteel over the last couple of games. Their secondary is talented with Asante Samuel Jr., Al Blades Jr., Trenell Troutman and Adetutu Daranijo.
     Venice(12-1), who lost one game this season to independent school IMG Academy during Week 7, enter this contest on an eight-game winning streak. The Indians will host their fourth consecutive playoff game. They defeated St. Petersburg 49-13 in a regional quarterfinal, handled Braden River 41-32 in a regional semifinal and cruised by Tampa Bay Tech 48-17 in a regional final. They have outscored their opponents 529-171 and averaged 40 points per game this year.
     The Indians return several offensive skill players that played in their game against the Raiders last year. Bryce Carpenter leads the team at quarterback and is a dual threat to run and pass the ball. Running back Courtney Doss gets the most opportunities to rush the ball from the backfield as will Brandon Gregory and Mike Trapani. Carpenter looks to connect passes off to wide receivers Jaivon Heiligh, Zach Fryar, Sam Whitney and Damian Brown.