St. Thomas Aquinas Pays Back Jesuit

     The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders got revenge on the Jesuit Tigers with a 45-3 victory in the FHSAA Class 3M state semifinal game at Brian Piccolo Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Friday night. The Tigers were the last high school to defeat the Raiders back in Week 2 of the 2021 regular season. 

     The Raiders, who played in the state semifinal round for the ninth straight year, will look to capture their fourth consecutive state title and a state-record 14th FHSAA state championship. They extended their winning streak to 26 games. STA will play in two weeks for the Class 3M state title at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. 

     St. Thomas Aquinas(13-0) got out to a 7-0 lead with one minute left in the first quarter in an unusual way. They recovered a fumble and returned it for a score. 

     Jesuit(9-5) cut the deficit just over two minutes into the second quarter. The Tigers were able to kick a 50-yard field goal and trailed 7-3. 

     STA picked up the pace for the rest of the first half. Quarterback Hezekiah Harris threw a touchdown pass with five minutes to go in the second for a 14-3. The Raiders extended their lead to 21-3 just a couple of minutes later on an interception returned for a touchdown. 

     St. Thomas Aquinas quickly scored at the start of the second half and they had a 25-point margin. The Raiders added another touchdown and had a 35-3 lead at the end of three quarters.