Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
St. Thomas faces off against Utah powerhouse Bingham in a postseason bowl.
FORT LAUDERDALE — For most high school seniors, dream seasons usually end with a state championship victory.
For St. Thomas Aquinas players, having already drubbed Tampa Plant, 45-6, in Florida’s Class 7A final, been there, done that. Tonight, the Raiders get a chance to “plus-one” that title-game outing in a national showcase against Utah powerhouse Bingham in the Geico State Champions Bowl Series.
The matchup between St. Thomas (12-2), No. 5 in USA Today’s national rankings, and the 12th-ranked Miners will kick off at 9:30 p.m. from the Dallas Cowboys’ 12,000-seat indoor practice facility in Frisco, Texas, and will be aired on ESPNU.
St. Thomas coach Roger Harriott, speaking after his team’s final practice at home Wednesday, said he welcomes the chance “to showcase for St. Thomas Aquinas, Broward County and the state of Florida.”
Added senior receiver Mike Harley: “It’s another opportunity to go out there and leave a mark ... leave a legacy and play for St. Thomas Aquinas.”
The opportunity on national against an out-ofstate power can serve as one final shot at redemption for a unit that eyed a national championship this season as the preseason No. 1 but dropped a pair of down-to-the-wire heartbreakers — first the regular season opener at Miami Booker T. Washington that came down to the Raiders’ final offensive play at the 1-yard line and in three overtimes in Las Vegas versus two-time defending national champ Bishop Gorman.
“We’re not taking this game any differently than we’re taking Fort Lauderdale or Dillard or Ely,” quarterback Jake Allen said. “We give every team our state championship effort, and nothing is different this week.”
Bingham, which went 14-0 with a Class 5A title win in Utah, appears strong in the trenches and features several top-notch national prospects, including four-star defensive linemen Jay Tufele and Langi Tuifua, three-star offensive tackle Cole Clemens, a Vanderbilt commit, and two-star cornerback and BYU pledge Tongi Langi.
“They’re a tough team,” Harriott said. “They do a great job of performing with an authentic sense of discipline and structure.”
Ahead of the 9:30 p.m. Aquinas-Bingham matchup in today’s fourteam bowl series, Georgia Class 6A champion Valdosta will take on Arizona’s No. 1 in 6A, Chandler, at 6 p.m.
Village Academy coach resigns
The longest-tenured coach in Village Academy football’s short history, Donald Hanna, resigned Thursday.
After serving as defensive coordinator for the Tigers’ inaugural season in 2008, Hanna was promoted the following year and spent the past eight seasons as head coach.
Hanna, 33, guided the small Delray Beach team to four playoff berths in the past five years and an overall record of 38-45. The Tigers are coming off a 3-8 fall with an appearance in the Class 2A regional semifinals.
“I think I maxed out the potential of the program under my watch and I think it’s time for someone else to come in and try to push it forward,” Hanna said Thursday.
Nineteen players under Hanna have gone on to play college football, including including Devonte Robinson (West Virginia, Utah State), Tre’Quan Smith (UCF) and Kevin Bronson (USF).