Published on Saturday November 29, 2008 in The Miami Herald
St. Thomas Aquinas rolls past Dillard 49-8
BY PETE PELEGRIN
Two plays.
The St. Thomas Aquinas football machine doesn't need much to take control of a game.
Dillard found that out the hard way in Friday's 5A Regional semifinal, as the Raiders steamrolled the Panthers 49-8.
''I thought we played pretty well,'' St. Thomas coach George Smith said. ''After Dillard's first score we came back and answered that. We played better than last week and that's what we're trying to do . . . we still need to get better and keep moving on.''
The Raiders will host the winner of South Fork-Atlantic in a 5A Regional final next Friday.
The Panthers took a brief lead in the first quarter.
Down 7-0, Dillard drove to the St. Thomas 32. On fourth and 12, the Panthers tried a fake punt and succeeded.
Jarrett Dieudonne, who lined up in front of punter Junior Fredrick, took the snap and connected with Travis Ward for 31 yards to the St. Thomas 1-yard line. Dillard quarterback Craig Weaver snuck in for the touchdown on the next play. The Panthers converted a 2-point conversion and went ahead 8-7.
But Dillard's lead lasted less than 30 seconds. After returning the ensuing kickoff to their 35, the Raiders erupted.
Running back Giovani Bernard split the Dillard defense and sprinted down the left sideline 65 yards for a touchdown to put St. Thomas ahead 14-8.
The Panthers went three and out on their next possession. On fourth down, Fredrick shanked his punt for minus-3 yards. St. Thomas took over at the Dillard 10.
On the Raiders' first play from scrimmage, quarterback Ryan Becker hit receiver Duron Carter with a 10-yard touchdown pass to extend the St. Thomas lead to 21-8.
''I was impressed by that,'' said Smith of the two touchdowns on two plays.
Becker ended any hopes of a Dillard comeback with two more touchdown passes in the second quarter.
Becker and Carter hooked up again, this time for an 11-yard touchdown pass.
Just before halftime, the Panthers botched a punt snap that rolled all the way to their 24-yard line. The Raiders needed just two played to punch it in from there. Running back Ronnie Kennedy gained 14 yards on first down to the Dillard 10. Becker then dumped a screen pass to running back Beau Bucci, who went 10 yards for the touchdown with 39 seconds left before halftime.
St. Thomas took a 35-8 lead into the half.
Broward game day notebook
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS RESPECTING ELDER
St. Thomas Aquinas defeated in August to start all of this national championship buzz?
Elder High School of Ohio might hold the key to helping Aquinas clinch a consensus national championship should it win the Class 5A state championship.
Elder has won 13 consecutive games since losing 35-21 in its season opener to St. Thomas Aquinas.
Elder will play St. Ignatius of Cleveland this weekend for the Ohio Division I State Championship.
A victory might boost St. Thomas Aquinas' strength of schedule points in the eyes of the pollsters just enough to vault it ahead of Euless Trinity (Texas), which holds the No. 1 spot ahead of the Raiders in the USA Today and ESPN rankings.
St. Thomas Aquinas is the top-ranked team in the country in the National Prep Football poll.
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