Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas to face No. 11 Bingham
St. Thomas Aquinas, fresh off of winning a third consecutive football state championship, announced Tuesday that it will play unbeaten Bingham (Utah) on Dec. 23 in Texas as part of the State Champions Bowl Series.
The Raiders (12-2), the Class 7A state champions, are ranked No. 5 nationally by USA Today. Bingham (14-0), the 5A champion in Utah, is ranked No. 11 nationally.
The game will be played in Frisco, Texas, at the Ford Center at The Star — the new corporate headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys. It will be televised live on ESPNU at 9:30 p.m.
“We’re grateful for the opportunity to represent Broward County and Florida as a whole,” St. Thomas coach Roger Harriott said.
St. Thomas’ game is the second part of a doubleheader that will also match Valdosta (Ga.) against Chandler (Ariz.). The Class 6A champs in their respective states will play at 6 p.m.
The State Championship Bowl Series — which is much like the 2014 champions series held at Florida Atlantic University — is a step closer to the creation of a high school football playoff that could crown a true national champion.
“This is something that we are looking forward to,” Harriott said. “It gives an opportunity to set a precedent from a precursor standpoint with regards to establishing a real national championship playoff series. That’s the objective — to finally establish a national championship playoff series that can determine a true ranking and hopefully we can utilize all of our resources to improve what we would like to perceive as the national champ.
“As it stands right now, it’s a mythical national championship.”
St. Thomas Aquinas won its 10th state championship in football Friday night with a 45-6 thumping of Tampa Plant in Orlando. The Raiders were dominant in the postseason, outscoring opponents 213-24.
The clash between St. Thomas and Bingham will feature nine ESPN 300-ranked players from the 2017 and 2018 classes.
“I know that they have a strong winning tradition in Utah,” Harriott said of Bingham. “They do a great job of establishing their run, they are extremely disciplined and fundamentally sound from a defensive and special teams standpoint.”
Flanagan teammates Clevan Thomas and Faion Hicks also signed with Kentucky and Wisconsin, respectively.
Samuels III, a five-star cornerback who committed to the FSU in June, is bound for the alma mater of his father, Stanford Samuels Jr., who recently completed his first year as head coach after Devin Bush Sr. took a defensive assistant role with Michigan.
“It just makes it that much more special being able to share it with my dad,” Samuels III said. “I know he’s as happy as I am.
“The family didn’t put any pressure on me to pick FSU, but once they figured out that that was my final decision, they were definitely happy . ... A lot of smiles, a lot of old stories.”
The only persuasion his father provided was that which came naturally over the years.
“The biggest influence that came from me is that he has always been a fan,” Samuels Jr. says. “A lot of things had to be answered in order for him to come to this conclusion and come to this decision. I’m proud of him.”
Hicks has set sky-high goals for himself with the Badgers.
“My goal is to someday be the face of Wisconsin,” said Hicks, a three-star cornerback prospect. “I want to make an impact right away for the program.”
Thomas, a three-star wideout, said he’s excited to play under Kentucky receivers coach Lamar Thomas (no relation), who played for the University of Miami and the Dolphins.
“He’s a real good coach,” Clevan Thomas said. “They were leading [in my recruitment] from the beginning.”
Enrolling early, which has become increasingly popular for Flanagan prospects, will provide accelerated advancement for the three players at the next level.
“To have an opportunity to go in the spring when things are much more calm and to progress that way, that’s a big thing,” Samuels Jr. said.