Friday, December 17, 2021

St.Thomas Aquinas Wins 13th State Title

     The St. Thoams Aquinas Raiders collected their state-record 13th Florida high school football title as they pounded the Tampa Bay Tech Titans 42-14 for the FHSAA Class 7A state championship on Friday night at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. It was the third straight title for STA which matched their string of championships from 2014 to 2016. The Raiders captured their 10th state championship in the last 15 seasons.
     St. Thomas Aquinas((14-1) scored on their first possession of the contest at the 8:05 mark of the first quarter. Running back Anthony Hankerson rambled up the middle for a 30-yard touchdown and the Raiders were up 6-0. 
     The Titans had a bad punt snap deep in their territory and the Raiders took over at the 14-yard line. Hankerson would get his second touchdown as he rushed through the right side of the line from two yards away for a 14-0 lead with 3:42 remaining in the quarter. 
     After a short Titans punt from their end zone, STA started the next drive at the Titans 12-yard line. Three plays later, quarterback Zion Turner sneaked up the middle from one yard out to make it 21-0 with 49 seconds left in the first. 
     Tampa Bay Tech(14-1) cut the deficit to 21-7 at 9:25 of the second quarter. Quarterback Xavione Washington tossed a seven-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Greg Gaines III on the right side of the end zone. 
     The Raiders increased their lead to 28-7 with 5:33 to go in the second. Wide receiver Camden Brown made a jumping catch on the right side of the end zone from Turner for a 21-yard touchdown completion. 
     St. Thomas Aquinas made it 35-7 on their first drive of the second half. Turner found wide receiver Isaiah Hardge wide-open in the front of the end zone on a 21-yard strike at the 5:50 mark of the third quarter. 
     Raiders linebacker Jordan Smith intercepted a pass and returned it to their 44-yard line. The possession was capped by Hankerson as he sprinted around the right end and scored from 16 yards away with 2:23 remaining in the third for a 42-7 lead. It was Hankerson's third touchdown run in the contest. A running clock was implemented for the rest of the game.
     The Titans did reach the end zone with 8:42 left in the fourth quarter and they were down 42-14. Running back Ronald Sims smashed up the middle on a one-yard touchdown. 

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