By Dave Brousseau
FORT LAUDERDALE – Five seconds was all it took for the St. Thomas Aquinas football team to tighten its grip on Monarch.
Senior defensive back Zayden Gamble’s 13-yard interception return for a touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage proved to be the prescription to a lopsided Aquinas victory.
Nine touchdowns later, the Raiders would cruise to a 71-20 victory over the Knights in a non-district game on Friday.
The victory was the 22nd consecutive for Aquinas (8-0), the fourth longest in team history. The final score was also eighth time the Raiders put up at least 70 points. The combined 91 points was the second most since a 77-20 win over South Dade in 2018 in program history.
Through the first eight games this season, the No. 1 ranked high school football team in the country, has outscored their opponents 340-85.
“Our games were emotion because it was senior night and wanted to play hard for their parents,” said Aquinas’ coach Roger Harriott. “Emotions were running high early and we were able to channel that into the right direction.”
First half interceptions by Gamble, Andre Jones and Tenilleus Bellot all led touchdowns.
“You can’t make mistakes against really good teams early and expect to stay in the game,” said Monarch coach Calvin Davis. “Against them you almost need to play a perfect game for four quarters.”
Aquinas took advantage of the Knights (4-4) turnovers for a 57-6 halftime lead. Those 57 points were the highest scored in the Raiders’ previous seven games this season.
Among the eight Raiders running backs that played Friday, six scored touchdowns, two coming from junior Collin Francis with runs of 13 and 43 yards.
The other backs that found the endzone on rushing plays were Tyler Reid, Ryan Mathis, Jacquez Burley, Shamar Sampson and Pharrell Woodside.
Aquinas senior quarterback Jase Watkins led the Raiders to two second half touchdowns to complete their scoring.
St. Thomas will host Flanagan next Friday. The Raiders are 5-0 all-time against the Falcons, outscoring them 199-47. Monarch plays the two-time state champion West Boca on Friday.
Dave Brousseau is a veteran journalist who worked at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and is a longtime BCAA Correspondent. Need to reach out to him? Contact him at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.