The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders host the Venice Indians in the Class 7A state semifinal at Brian Piccolo Stadium on Friday night. It will be the fourth consecutive postseason that both schools face each other in the state semifinal. The Raiders topped the Indians 38-18 last year in Fort Lauderdale.
St. Thomas Aquinas hosted and pounded Venice 46-8 in 2016. The Indians ended the three-year championship reign of the Raiders in 2017 with a 27-20 victory at home.
Venice(8-4) won three road playoff contests with victories over Lehigh 49-0 in a regional quarterfinal, Palm Beach Lakes 62-35 in a regional semifinal and Manatee 34-17 in a regional final. The Indians are currently on their longest winning streak of the season at three games. They have a choice with Ryan Overstreet and Nick Dallacosta at quarterback. Running backs Steffan Johnson, Brian Taylor, Damarion Escort and Shevan Pearce will get their share of rushing opportunities from the backfield. Wide receivers Malachi Freeman and Weston Wolff along with tight end Garrett French can get open for pass receptions.
Undefeated St. Thomas Aquinas(12-0) have not lost a home playoff game since 2003. STA have outscored their opponents 505-108 and compiled six shutouts this season. They blasted South Broward 52-0 in the regional quarterfinal, knocked off Plantation 59-19 in the regional semifinal and blanked Atlantic 26-0 last week in the regional final. The Raiders have appeared in the state semifinal round 14 of the last 16 years. Quarterback Zion Turner is capable of running out of the pocket for yardage along with throwing the ball to wide receivers Marcus Rosemy, The'Andris Freeman, Jahvante Royal and Ethan Corbijn. Running backs Anthony Hankerson and Jaedon Henry will split the rushing attempts for the Raiders.
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