Defense a strong suit for Raiders

Cardinal Gibbons springs road upset on St. Thomas Aquinas

Cardinal Gibbons junior defensive end Mason Thomas saw St. Thomas Aquinas running back Anthony Hankerson sprint to the flat, and he knew he had a shot at a game-changing play.

Thomas read the play perfectly, and Raiders quarterback Zion Turner’s pass ended up in his hands. With no obstacles between him and the end zone, Thomas sprinted the remaining distance and scored, giving Cardinal Gibbons a 17-7 lead over St. Thomas. That would be enough to secure an eventual 17-10 victory for the Chiefs in Fort Lauderdale on Friday.

“It was just so surreal,” Thomas said. “I was just coming down, and I was like, ‘Is this really happening?’”

The Chiefs entered the game undefeated but underdogs against the Raiders, who won their first game last week and were ranked third in the nation and second in Florida by MaxPreps.

Cardinal Gibbons’ defense, which has allowed 25 points through three games, kept St. Thomas in check. The Raiders took a 7-0 lead when Turner tossed a 25-yard touchdown to Bralon Brown, and they would not score again until late in the fourth quarter.

“Jack Hanrahan and Dave Montiel and the rest of the coaching staff on defense — I don’t even bother with them,” Cardinal Gibbons coach Matt DuBuc said. “I let them coach the game. I don’t tell them what to do.

“They are pros. They come in Sunday and Saturday, and they get the game plan ready to go and they execute the game plan.”

The Chiefs evened the score on a 2-yard touchdown run by Kamari Moulton in the third quarter. After that, neither side could get anything going until St. Thomas surrendered a fumble at its own 15-yard line in the fourth quarter.

The Raiders kept the Chiefs out of the end zone despite Gibbons getting a first down on the 1-yard line. Despite the defensive stand, the Chiefs took their first lead of the game on a short field goal.

Down three points with 3 minutes, 11 seconds left to play in the fourth quarter, the Raiders needed a scoring drive, but Thomas’ pick-six gave the Chiefs enough separation to hold onto the game. St. Thomas scored a late field goal but could not recover the following onside kick, sealing the win for the Chiefs.

“We were Rocky Balboa, and nobody gave us a shot,” DuBuc said. “Twenty-one point underdog, whatever. But I told our team all week: You’re going to hit the ropes, man, you’re going to get knocked down, but we’re going to get back up.

“Our defense continuously answered the bell. We got back up, we fought, we scratched and clawed just like Rocky.”