St. Thomas Aquinas’ defense stands tall in spring intrasquad scrimmage

There was no official scoring in St. Thomas Aquinas’ spring football game, but if there had been the defense probably would have won.

St. Thomas Aquinas held its annual scrimmage on Thursday evening at Brian Piccolo Stadium, with the “Blue” defense taking on the “Gold” offense in front of a healthy crowd. No points were awarded, but it was the Raiders’ defense that stood tallest by giving up just one touchdown on the offense’s fifth possession.

Linebacker Jayvant Brown and safety Conrad Hussey helped set the tone for Blue, nabbing interceptions on Gold’s second and third possessions after forcing an opening-drive punt. The defense then held the offense to several turnovers on downs, punts, and field goals for much of the rest of the way.

“The defense played extremely clean,” St Thomas Aquinas coach Roger Harriott said. “I think they only had one penalty. That is typically the sign of a very good team if the defense is rolling in the right direction.”

The offense was not as impressive, though the Raiders consistently changed personnel at seemingly every position throughout. Five different quarterbacks saw time in the game — Aronson Tyler, Anthony Truiolo, Jake Balanovich, Mycah Johnson, and Andrew Indorf — but several of them dealt with long snaps that spoiled possessions and contributed to Gold’s disjointed display.

The lone touchdown came from running back Jordan Lyle, who rushed around the left tackle and into the end zone from 2 yards out on the offense’s fifth possession.

“We wanted to give [the players] an opportunity to showcase their talent but also stay healthy,” Harriott said. “The younger guys on JV, we were giving them a chance to compete with each other. They took some live reps and did an exceptional job.”

Three different kickers, including Michael Kern, also made all of their field goals for the Raiders’ offense in the game that saw no one pick up any significant injuries.

“We are blessed. We had a healthy spring,” Harriott said. “We are looking forward to the fall.”

MICHAEL LAUGHLIN/SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL St. Thomas Aquinas running back Jordan Lyle breaks through the defensive line during the Raiders’ spring game Thursday.