St. Thomas Aquinas Survives Dillard

     Two of the top Broward County high schools faced each other on Friday night as the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders defeated the Dillard Panthers 23-13 at Brian Piccolo Stadium. The Raiders have won eight of the nine meetings in this local rivalry. 

     Dillard(7-1) moved ahead 7-0 at the 7:05 mark of the first quarter. Quarterback Armani Norcius found wide receiver Edward Louis wide open in the middle of the end zone. 

     It was tied up 7-7 by St. Thomas Aquinas(8-1) at 8:28 of the second quarter. Running back Anthony Hankerson rushed through the right side of the line from two yards out. STA then got a safety on a bad high punt snap by the Panthers with 5:15 to go and they led 9-7. 

     The Raiders continued their momentum and scored with 11 seconds left in first half. Hankerson raced around the right end and reached the end zone from two yards away for a 16-7 lead. 

     In the third quarter, the Panthers closed the gap to 16-13 with 4:50 remaining. Norcius angled a pass to the right hash marks, wide receiver Devaughn Mortimer caught it and sprinted down the right sideline for a 90-yard touchdown. 

     St. Thomas Aquinas expanded their lead to 23-13 with 3:10 left in the fourth quarter. A Dillard field goal was blocked and Conrad Hussey returned it 86 yards for a touchdown.