Published Saturday October 27, 2007 in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 42, MCARTHUR 7
Mike Gonzalez, Special correspondent
The Raiders clinched their 11th straight district title by defeating the Mustangs at Piccolo Stadium.
Aquinas scored first with more than four minutes left in the first quarter when quarterback Ryan Becker hit running back Jeremiah Harden on a 62-yard pass to put the Raiders up 7-0.
But at the end of the first quarter, a fumble by Becker put the Mustangs in excellent field position on the Raiders' 5-yard line. On a fourth-and-goal on the Raiders' 1, Mustang quarterback Jovan Smith punched in a quarterback sneak touchdown run to even the score to begin the second quarter.
After that, it was all Raiders.
Following a big run by Raiders running back Jeremiah Harden, with less than 5 minutes to go in the first half, the Raiders took the lead 14-7 off a reverse by wide receiver Philip Pierre-Louis for a 34-yard touchdown. With less than a minute and a half left in the second quarter, Smith fumbled deep in the Mustang territory, with Raider linebacker Christopher Eterno recovering the ball on the Mustangs' 14-yard line. On the first play, Becker connected for his second touchdown, this time to running back Giovanni Bernard, to make it 21-7 at halftime.
Bernard capped another Raiders drive with his second score of the game to make it 28-7 with 9:40 remaining, and the Raiders added to that with a 25-yard touchdown run by Harden, his second touchdown, to make the score 35-7.
With less than 5 minutes to go in the quarter, running back James White broke through several tackles to score a 50-yard touchdown for the final margin.
The Raiders have now made the playoffs for 17 consecutive years. The Raiders also have won 44 consecutive district games. Since 1975, when the current district format was formed, the Raiders have an overall district record of 118-14.
Copyright © 2007, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
