St. Thomas Aquinas Stones Riverdale

     The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders took down the Riverdale Raiders 45-13 in the FHSAA Class 5A state semifinals at Simmons Family Field in Fort Lauderdale on Friday night. STA extended their postseason winning streak to a state-record 34 games and reached the state title game for the 18th time in the last 22 seasons. They will attempt to capture a state-record seventh consecutive state championship along with a state-record 17th overall state title next week in Miami. 

      St. Thomas Aquinas(13-1) scooted out to a 3-0 lead just five minutes into the contest. Johnny DiSalvatore would boot a 17-yard field goal.

      It became 10-0 for them with three minutes left in the opening quarter. Jaden Desir broke through the line and scored a touchdown from 31 yards away. 

      STA increased their lead to 17-0 on another touchdown with a couple of minutes remaining in the first quarter. It became a 38-point margin for them 38-0 with three touchdowns during the second quarter. 

      Riverdale(12-2) was able to break the shutout early in the third quarter. They reached the end zone and were down 38-7. Aquinas outscored their opponent 7-6 in the final quarter for a 45-13 advantage.