Ouch! Lakeland gets thumped by Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas

Maybe Largo's 35-14 loss last week to Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas wasn't so bad after all. On Friday night, St. Thomas Aquinas, which is ranked No. 1 in the country by USA Today, routed previously unbeaten Lakeland 56-7 in the Class 5A final at the Florida Citrus Bowl.

Here's the Associated Press game story ...

ORLANDO -- Ryan Becker passed for three touchdowns and ran for another as Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas routed Lakeland 56-7 Friday night before 9,038 fans at the Florida Citrus Bowl to win the Class 5A title and cap a perfect season.

The crown is the second straight and fifth overall for St. Thomas Aquinas (15-0), which is ranked No. 1 in the country by USA Today. The Raiders also won championships in 1992 (4A), 1997 (5A) and 1999 (4A). They lost to Lakeland in the 2004, ‘05 and ‘06 finals.

By the end of the first quarter, the outcome wasn’t in doubt.

Becker completed a 53-yard touchdown pass to Gabrison Holmes on the second play of the game. Just under six minutes later, James White scored on a 45-yard run to make it 14-0. The Raiders added a 1-yard touchdown run from Becker at the 3:29 mark of the quarter, then made it 28-0 17 seconds later on a 20-yard interception return by linebacker Conor O’Neill.

St. Thomas Aquinas led 35-0 at the half and 49-7 after three quarters. The final 12 minutes were played with a mandatory running clock.

Becker finished 8 of 11 for 100 yards. Giovanni Bernard (104 yards) and White (98 yards, one touchdown) led the St. Thomas Aquinas rushing attack, which produced 288 yards on 28 carries.

Lakeland (14-1) totaled only 236 yards and turned the ball over twice.

--KEITH NIEBUHR

Comments

[bigdog]

the game was great to watch lakeland got what they deserve

[Silence Dogood]

Unlike Lakeland,Largo had their chances last weekend. This scenario played out almost exactly the same way last year. STA struggled early on against Largo,their depth took over and they won. The next week they blew out the team they played in the finals.

Right now,the Packers are the most underrated program in the state. Just sayin'.....