Raiders run all over rival
St. Thomas rushed for 322 yards in shutout victory
St. Thomas Aquinas running back Anthony Hankerson tries to run around the Plantation defense during the first
FORT LAUDERDALE — St. Thomas relied on the ground game against district rival Plantation, and their running backs provided all the scoring they needed.
The Raiders ran for 322 yards and four touchdowns as they beat Plantation 35-0 in Fort Lauderdale on Friday, handing the Colonels their first loss of the year and taking the driver’s seat in District 14-7A.
“I thought all of the backs did really well,” Harriott said. “Our offensive line played extremely physical. Jaedon Henry and [Anthony] Hankerson and Travis [Dixon] did an exceptional job finding those creases and accelerating through the point of attack.
“We’re starting to put together a productive run game that
Hankerson, a sophomore, ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.
Henry, a senior, ran for 114 yards on 11 carries, and Dixon, a fellow senior, ran for 46 yards and a score on six carries. Quarterback Zion Turner added 15 net yards and a touchdown on the ground.
“They make us look good; we make them look good,” senior offensive lineman balances our offense.” Marcus Dumervil said. “It’s great blocking for those guys.”
The Raiders had control of the game from the start. Colby Dempsey picked off a pass from Plantation’s Gerard Nesbitt on the Colonels’ first drive, and quarterback Turner ran in a 12-yard score to get St. Thomas on the scoreboard.
Turner later added a touchdown through the air on an 8-yard pass to The’Andris Freeman.
The Raiders’ special teams set up the offense’s second touchdown of the game, stopping the punter from scrambling for a first and setting St. Thomas up at the Plantation 8-yard line.
Hankerson scored on an 8-yard touchdown run on the next play. He added his second touchdown on a 32-yard run in the third quarter.
Dixon scored his touchdown on a 14-yard run with 9:29 left in the fourth quarter to start a running clock.
The Raiders extended their winning streak to 12 over the Colonels. In those games, St. Thomas has outscored Plantation 371-87. The Raiders take on Deerfield Beach, which routed Spanish River on Friday, at home next week.
Although the Raiders beat an undefeated team in the Sun Sentinel top 10, Harriott thinks his team can do better.
“We’ll continue to get better and work at this,” Harriott said.