Lakeland Takes St. Thomas Aquinas And 7A Title

     The Lakeland Dreadnaughts stopped the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders 33-20 in the FHSAA Class 7A state championship at Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Friday night. Lakeland had previously won three consecutive Class 5A state titles against St. Thomas Aquinas from 2004 to 2006. STA attempted to capture their 11th state title in school history.
     The Raiders tried to open the scoring, however Logan Lupo missed a 30-yard field goal wide left at 10:20 of the second quarter. Lakeland(15-0) took over and running back Demarcus Bowman raced 80 yards on the first play for a touchdown to give them a 7-0 lead just 12 seconds later.
     The Dreadnaughts added more points on their next possession with 15 second left in the second. Jace Hohanthaner kicked a 38-yard field goal and they led 10-0.
     Both offenses fumbled the ball away in the first minute of the second half. STA would score on their second possession. Quarterback Curt Casteel rambled in on a 15-yard touchdown run at the 10:30 mark of the third quarter to make it 10-7.
     Lakeland regained their 10-point margin only 17 seconds later. Fenley Graham returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a score.
     St. Thomas Aquinas(13-2), who entered the game with a 7-0 record in state title games held in Orlando, answered back quickly at 9:18. Running back Daniel Carter was able to rush the ball in from five yards out and they trailed 17-14.
     The Dreadnaughts responded on their next possession to make it 20-14 with 6:25 left in the third. Hohanthaner booted a 25-yard field goal.
     They got the ball back on the first play of the next drive when Carter fumbled at the Raiders 12-yard line and it was recovered by defensive lineman Latrell Jean. Four plays later, Lakeland fullback Jaharie Martin busted in from one yard away to put them ahead 26-14 with 4:16 remaining in the quarter.
     The Raiders needed a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, but they lost the ball on downs near the Dreadnaughts 14-yard line at the 11:11 mark. Two possessions later, Lakeland put the game out of reach on a Martin two-yard touchdown run with 5:01 left for a 33-14 lead.
     St. Thomas Aquinas reached the end zone one more time with 1:57 to go. Casteel connected a 13-yard pass to wide receiver The'Andris Freeman, however they failed on the two-point conversion pass and STA was down 33-20.