Nation Watches Aquinas Prove Worthy of its Top Spot
The Raiders beat the Byrnes Rebels of South Carolina on ESPN
NBC Miami
St. Thomas Aquinas, the number one team in the country, held on to its title after defeating the second-ranked team in the country, Byrnes from South Carolina.
St. Thomas Aquinas of Fort Lauderdale, the number one football team in the nation, took the national stage Friday night in an ESPN- televised showdown against the number two school in the nation, Byrnes of South Carolina.
When it was over, the Aquinas Raiders proved worthy of their top spot, beating the Rebels 42-34.
And they showed why their graduates always fill the rosters of the state’s three largest college football programs. There are currently seven St. Thomas Aquinas graduates playing for the Miami Hurricanes, Florida Gators and Florida State Seminoles.
The school has also produced 36 NFL players, including former Miami Hurricane and hall of famer Michael Irvin.
It is no wonder why Gators’ coach Urban Meyer stood on the sidelines and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops (who is in town to play the Hurricanes) and Rutgers’ coach Greg Schiano were among the 20,000 fans attending the game at Fort Lauderdale's Lockhart Stadium.
"I follow St. Thomas real closely," said Meyer, who spent much of the game chatting with Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter, in full view of players on both sidelines. "And Byrnes is a national program as well."
Schiano flew down on an eight-seat plane, joking that he had room to take six players back to New Jersey.
"South Florida football has been a big part of our program," Schiano said. "And it always will be."
The Byrnes Rebels came in confident. They had beaten four quality Florida teams in the past. They even took an early 7-0 lead, the first time the Raiders have been behind all season.
But it didn’t last long. The Raiders started pounding away through the ground and the air with quarterback Jason Rudock throwing four touchdown passes and Lamarcus Joyner running a kickoff back for a 93 yard touchdown.
It was the 28th straight victory for St. Thomas Aquinas.
Despite the loss, Byrnes took it in stride and marked it up as a positive experience.
"It's something they'll never forget," Byrnes coach Chris Miller said. "I know we came out here to play a football game. This was a great opportunity for them. Some of them had never flown before, we went to the beach today, we had a great time."
Copyright Associated Press / NBC 6 Miami
Posted Saturday, Oct 3, 2009 - 1:06 PM EST
