By Dave Brousseau
COCONUT CREEK – It was going to take something special for the Monarch football team to steal a victory against St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday.
For three quarters the Knights played well enough to hold a three-point lead through three quarters. But this was a Raiders team that hadn’t lost to Monarch in three previous meetings.
Junior running back Virgil Lemons scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns as Aquinas rallied for a 31-20 victory in a non-district game at Coconut Creek High.
The Raiders (7-1) have won seven straight games since a season opening loss to Mater Dei and 12 of the last 13 games. The Knights (4-4) have lost all four meetings against Aquinas.
“Our team has great character,” said St. Thomas Aquinas coach Roger Harriott. “We worked through some adversity early and our guys responded well.
“We still need to clean up some penalties and some things we need to focus on in regard to the management of the game, he added.”
Trailing 20-17 after three quarters, the Raiders took the lead for good on a 1-yard run by Lemons with 11:15 left in the fourth quarter.
The lead was secured after an interception by Jermiyah Douglas that led to a 13-yard scoring reception by Lemons from Mason Mallory with 4:27 to play.
“Mallory told me we got this before he threw the pass,” said Lemons. “I was ready and answered the call. We did great things after the halftime.”
Monarch trailed 3-0 after the Raiders opening field goal. Senior quarterback Florentino Lopez scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter and added a 71-yard scoring pass to Chris Cortinas in the second quarter for a 13-3 Knight lead.
A Mallory 8-yard touchdown run with 1:54 left in the first half closing the Monarch lead 13-10.
He added his second rushing touchdown on the night on a 3-yard run midway through the third quarter for a Raiders 17-13 advantage. Monarch answered on its ensuing possession on a Lopez 13-yard scoring pass to Wallace McIntosh late in the quarter to regain the lead.
“Despite the loss this was probably the most complete game we have played,” said Monarch coach Calvin Davis. “This type of game was about getting snaps. We had a chance but just didn’t get it done.”
St. Thomas plays at American Heritage this Friday, while Monarch plays at Piper with the District 13-6A title on the line.
Dave Brousseau is a veteran journalist who worked at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and is a longtime BCAA Correspondent. Need to reach out to him? Contact him at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.