St. Thomas Aquinas High School Football

Posted on Saturday September 27, 2008 in The Miami Herald

St. Thomas Aquinas routs South Plantation

BY BOB EMANUEL JR.

Back-to-back bye weeks diminished St. Thomas Aquinas' high-powered offense Friday night. Big plays were relatively nonexistent, and the Raiders needed lengthy drives to score.

Despite the struggles, Aquinas still lived up to its lofty expectations.

Aquinas, ranked in the top five nationally by several publications, amassed 387 yards and cruised to a 38-10 road victory over previously undefeated South Plantation on Friday night.

''After 21 days of being off, we were very rusty,'' Aquinas coach George Smith said. ''We didn't execute all the times we should have. We had a tough time getting lined up a couple of times. Those mistakes come from not playing for quite a while. . . . We have a lot of work to do. Obviously, the 21 days in a row did not help us.''

St. Thomas (3-0) led 24-3 at halftime, and even thought it played without senior quarterback Ryan Becker in the second half, it generated 176 yards of offense and extended its to 38-10.

Becker, who completed 9 of 13 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown, sustained an ankle injury in the first half and was replaced by sophomore Jacob Rudock.

Aquinas' passing game stalled, and Rudock finished with two completions for 9 yards on five attempts. Becker is expected back for next week's game against District 16-5A rival Hollywood Hills.

''He did fine,'' Smith said of Rudock. ''He practices all the time. He gets a lot of repetitions in practice. I think Ryan will be fine.''

Kerwin Brown scored on a 78-yard run late in the third quarter to cut South Plantation's deficit to 24-10.

But Aquinas' Ronnie Kennedy returned the ensuing kickoff 72 yards for a touchdown. Rudock added a 4-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter.

''They've got great players,'' South Plantation coach Rich Maresco said. ''The kids came out and played their hearts out. It's tough. We always want to win. . . . This game is going to make us better the rest of the year.''

Aquinas methodically built its first-half lead. It opted to dink and dunk its way down the field, with its longest play from scrimmage a 30-yard run by Giovanni Bernard.

James White capped a nine-play, 55-yard drive with a 5-yard run on Aquinas' opening possession.

Becker found tight end Gabe Holmes across the middle to convert a third-and-5 situation to South Plantation's 5 to set up the score. South Plantation answered with a seven-play drive, buoyed by a 78-yard run by Marcus Thompson. Pablo Quiroga hit a 27-yard field goal to cut Aquinas' lead to 7-3.

An interception by Jamal Stephen ended Aquinas' next drive. South Plantation gained just one first down, however, and was forced to punt. The snap sailed over punter Joey LeBlanc, and he recovered at his 6. Bernard scored on the ensuing play to give Aquinas a 14-3 lead with 10:34 left in the first half.

Aquinas scored on its final two possessions of the first half. After Bernard's 30-yard run, St. Thomas went 40 yards in three plays and scored on a 12-yard pass from Becker to Duron Carter.

Michael Palardy hit a 32-yard field goal in the final minute of the half to give Aquinas a 24-3 lead.