St. Thomas Aquinas notches most dominant win of 6-peat over a very familiar foe

The Raiders won state championship No. 16 with relative ease against the state's No. 1-ranked team

Zilla Photo

MIAMI, FLORIDA- St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Roger Harriott made a call right after the game to let former Raiders' legendary lead man George Smith know something: The Raiders had done it.

The seventh meeting between the two high school state powerhouses on Thursday night ended not quite the way many had imagined. Or hoped for, anyways.

In what was shaping up to being the latest epic edition of Lakeland-St. Thomas Aquinas turned into a rout in the Class 5A state championship. The Raiders soundly defeated the Dreadanaughts, 34-0, at Pitbull Stadium and at really no point of the game did you ever feel like St. Thomas Aquinas lost control.

The win was in such a way that Smith had only hoped he could have dominated Lakeland when facing Bill Castle in the 1990's and 2000's, as Lakeland went 5-1 against St. Thomas in state finals between 1996-2018.

3 takeaways from St. Thomas Aquinas' dominating 5A title win over Lakeland

History probably told us that this game wouldn't be too close, with the average margin of victory being 25.3 points. It didn't play out any differently in the latest chapter between Lakeland and Aquinas. Down below are the scores of each Lakeland-Aquinas state championship meeting.

1996: Lakeland 40, St. Thomas Aquinas 6

2004: Lakeland 31, St. Thomas Aquinas 7

2005: Lakeland 39, St. Thomas Aquinas 10

2006: Lakeland 45, St. Thomas Aquinas 42, OT

2008: St. Thomas Aquinas 56, Lakeland 7

2018: Lakeland 33, St. Thomas Aquinas 20

It was the team's most dominant performance of not only the regular season and playoffs, but in the last six years of winning the state championship. Down below are the scores of St. Thomas Aquinas' six straight championship victories.

2019: St. Thomas Aquinas 28, Edgewater 23

2020: St. Thomas Aquinas 31, Edgewater 21

2021: St. Thomas Aquinas 42, Tampa Bay Tech 14

2022: St. Thomas Aquinas 38, Homestead 21

2023: St. Thomas Aquinas 31, Homestead 28

2024: St. Thomas Aquinas 34, Lakeland 0

From the outset of Aquinas' seventh state championship meeting against Lakeland in a state championship game, the Raiders exerted their dominance over the Dreadnaughts from jump street. Squashing any chance of Lakeland getting its run game going, Aquinas held the Dreadnaughts' vaunted rushing attack to 196 yards on 38 carries.

Those numbers pale in comparison to those put up by Lakeland during the regular season, as the Dreadnaughts were usually able to find a way to run the ball effectively in order to win.

Photos: St. Thomas Aquinas pulls off 6-peat with dominant win over Lakeland for 5A title

Now not having Shanard Clower around definitely played a role, but not to the tune of 34 points kind of one. This was your good ole take 'em to the wood shed kind of whooping the Raiders put on the Dreadnaughts.

The Raiders' defensive backfield played their best game of the entire season, holding the Dreadnaughts to a combined 4-of-16 passeing for a total of 26 yards and two interceptions. With the run game kept in check, pass coverage on lockdown, Aquinas feasted on turnovers and mistakes en route to a crowning performance.

A dominant performance fit for a 16-time state champion.

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi