By Lynn Ramsey - Florida Catholic
St. Thomas Aquinas defensive back Adetutu Daranijo picks off a Tampa Plant pass in the first half of St. Thomas Aquinas' 45-6 victory over Tampa Plant Dec. 9 in the Class 7A state football championship game at Camping World Stadium.
St. Thomas Aquinas defenders flip Plant running back Whop Philyor (1) in the first half of St. Thomas Aquinas' 45-6 victory over Tampa Plant Dec. 9 in the Class 7A state football championship game at Camping World Stadium.
St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Roger Harriott enters into discussion with the side judge in the first half of St. Thomas Aquinas' 45-6 victory over Tampa Plant Dec. 9, in the Class 7A state football championship game at Camping World Stadium. Harriott led St. Thomas Aquinas to its 10th state title, the second in Harriott's tenure with the Raiders.
St. Thomas Aquinas defensive lineman Jason Dooling sacks Plant quarterback Dane Frantzen in the first half of St. Thomas Aquinas' 45-6 victory over Tampa Plant Dec. 9 in the Class 7A state football championship game at Camping World Stadium.
St. Thomas Aquinas' Asante Samuel blocks a field-goal attempt by Nick Rice in the first half of St. Thomas Aquinas' 45-6 victory over Tampa Plant Dec. 9 in the Class 7A state football championship game at Camping World Stadium.
St. Thomas Aquinas receiver Jordan Merrell (1) and lineman Vincent Murphy celebrate Merrell's 18-yard touchdown reception in the first half of St. Thomas Aquinas' 45-6 victory over Tampa Plant Dec. 9 in the Class 7A state football championship game at Camping World Stadium.
St. Thomas Aquinas receiver Michael Harley hauls in a long pass over Plant defender Whip Philyor on his way to a 62-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter of St. Thomas Aquinas' 45-6 victory over Tampa Plant Dec. 9 in the Class 7A state championship football game at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. Harley's third touchdown reception of the game invoked the FHSAA's mercy rule, setting the game into a running clock.
St. Thomas Aquinas' (from left) Samuel Llewellyn, Asante Samuel and Adetutu Daranijo join fans in celebrating their 45-6 victory over Tampa Plant Dec. 9 in the Class 7A state championship football game at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
St. Thomas Aquinas players show their medals for winning the championship with their 45-6 victory over Tampa Plant Dec. 9 in the Class 7A state championship football game at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
St. Thomas Aquinas coaches pose with the championship trophy after their 45-6 victory over Tampa Plant Dec. 9 in the Class 7A state championship football game at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
Photography: LYNN RAMSEY | FC
ORLANDO | Dominance has come to define St. Thomas Aquinas football. But even the Raiders topped themselves Friday.
Jake Allen threw for 329 yards and five touchdowns as the Raiders crushed Tampa Plant 45-6 in the Class 7A state football championship game, held Dec. 9 at Camping World Stadium.
The Raiders had their largest margin of victory in a state final since beating Lakeland 56-7 in the 2008 Class 5A championship game. But Aquinas had won their playoff games by an average of 37 points.
They remain second all-time in state championships. The Raiders’ 10th title leaves them only one behind Jacksonville Bolles, which lost in the Class 4A title game Thursday night. Jacksonville Trinity Christian won its 10th title on Saturday by beating Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna 24-13 in the Class 3A final.
Allen, who committed to play football at the University of Florida, completed 17 of 29 passes with only one interception. He finished his senior season with 2,133 passing yards and 26 touchdowns.
Photographer: LYNN RAMSEY | FC
St. Thomas Aquinas defenders flip Plant running back Whop Philyor (1) in the first half of St. Thomas Aquinas' 46-7 victory over Tampa Plant Dec. 9 in the Class 7A state football championship game at Camping World Stadium.
Photographer: LYNN RAMSEY | FC
St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Roger Harriott enters into discussion with the side judge in the first half of St. Thomas Aquinas' 46-7 victory over Tampa Plant Dec. 9 in the Class 7A state football championship game at Camping World Stadium. Harriott led St. Thomas Aquinas to its 10th state title, the second in Harriott's tenure with the Raiders.
Photographer: LYNN RAMSEY | FC
St. Thomas Aquinas receiver Michael Harley hauls in a long pass over Plant defender Whip Philyor on his way to a 62-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter of St. Thomas Aquinas' 46-7 victory over Tampa Plant Dec. 9 in the Class 7A state championship football game at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. Harley's third touchdown reception of the game invoked the FHSAA's mercy rule, setting the game into a running clock.
West Virginia commitment Michael Harley proved to be Allen’s big-play target, catching five passes for 133 yards and three touchdowns. Joshua Palmer, who had six catches for 80 yards, and Jordan Merrell, who caught three passes for 60 yards, also snagged touchdown passes from Allen.
“It’s special knowing that you can mess up and have six, seven great receivers bail you out,” Allen said. “It’s a great feeling.”
Michael Epstein gave Aquinas big-play ability out of the backfield. Epstein ran for 56 yards and one touchdown. He also caught a 30-yard pass in the first quarter that set up the Raiders’ first touchdown.
The Raiders offense went at Plant early and often. Allen capped their second drive by finding Harley for a 25-yard diving touchdown catch. When Plant had a bad snap on a punt on the next drive, Allen hit Palmer on a 28-yard touchdown pass on the next play for a 14-0 lead.
Aquinas’ Andrew White blocked a punt on the next drive, but it was recovered by punter Nick Rice and advanced 12 yards for a first down. The Raiders snuffed out that threat. Kyshaun Bryan then set up the Raiders’ next touchdown with a 37-yard run to the Plant 7. Bryan led Aquinas rushers with 66 yards.
“We tried to maneuver based on strengths,” Aquinas coach Roger Harriott said. “They had a great attack, we were just on tonight. We had great protection from offensive line and running back. When they dropped into coverage, we were able to run the ball.”
Stifling defense
Aquinas’ defense kept Plant double-threat quarterback Dane Frantzen bottled up most of the night. Frantzen ran 24 times for 82 yards and one touchdown, a 1-yard plunge that pulled the Panthers within 21-6. He also threw for 109 yards on 11-of-26 passing.
However, he faced pressure in most passing situations. Aquinas’ defensive line was missing defensive end Nik Bonitto, who was out with a sprained ankle and sprained knee. The Raiders just reloaded. Coleman Crozier, one of those filling in for Bonitto, earned a sack, while Jason Dooling also got a sack. Aquinas defensive backs Jaden Davis and Adetutu Daranijo also picked off Frantzen twice, turning both into scores.
“Coach told me it was coming. I trusted what he said. I broke on the ball and made the play,” said Davis. “They ran a lot of jet motion and just keyed on that. We trusted the coaches and trusted the process. We played mostly cover 3 (zone), just stay back and don’t get beat deep.”
In the second half, Allen found Harley late in the third quarter on an 11-yard touchdown pass. After the Aquinas defense held Plant, Allen hit Harley on a 63-yard touchdown pass to invoke the mercy rule.
“We were going to run the ball, so we can open up the passing game,” Harley said. “We just had to finish strong.”
Overcoming adversity
When you enter the season with two consecutive state championships, naturally a third is expected. St. Thomas players mentioned as much.
To prepare for a run, the Raiders opened against national-level competition, proving they aren’t afraid to face some of the nation’s best. They went 1-2 early, opening the season with a 27-23 loss to defending 4A state champion Miami Booker T. Washington, then taking Nevada 4A state champ Las Vegas Bishop Gorman to triple-overtime before falling 25-24.
The players said the two early losses taught them how to deal with adversity.
“It challenged us and made us get better by practicing harder,” Dooling said. “It made us feel like we’re not invincible. When you have a quick loss, it makes us work harder.”
STA won eight in a row since. None of the games they won were close, not even their playoff games. They averaged a margin of victory of 37 points in their march to the state final.
Even their victories carried some adversity. After five players were suspended after a postgame fight against Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer, the Raiders recovered by crushing Mater Academy 50-10 in the Region 4-7A final.
“Coach just said don’t let that get to your head and protect what’s yours — a state championship,” said Davis about rebounding after the Dwyer game.
They then routed Venice 46-8 in the state semifinals before dismantling Plant.
“We learned that you can’t take things for granted,” Harriott said. “You have to take advantage of the opportunities presented to you. We positioned ourselves from a faith-based standpoint and relied on each other.”
Photographer: LYNN RAMSEY | FC
St. Thomas Aquinas' (from left) Samuel Llewellyn, Asante Samuel and Adetutu Daranijo join fans in celebrating their 46-7 victory over Tampa Plant Dec. 9 in the Class 7A state championship football game at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
