Deja vu: Defense leads St. Thomas Aquinas in 5th annual postseason battle with Venice

At this point, it has become an annual tradition. Every year, region championships or state semifinals arrive in late November or early December, and St. Thomas Aquinas and Venice start preparing to face one another. It has now happened in five straight years, as two of Florida’s top programs met with a trip to the state semifinals on the line.

Dallas Turner learned all about this week. The defensive lineman is playing his first season with the Raiders, but his teammates told him all about the rivalry in the week. The senior learned he’d hear trash talk from the Indians’ sideline and the game would certainly get chippy in some places. He learned all about Venice’s uptempo offense. He knew his defense would have to win the Region 4-Class 7A championship and it did. St. Thomas Aquinas scored one defensive touchdown, one special teams touchdown and nearly shut out Venice to win 29-8 on Friday in Fort Lauderdale.

“The whole team says it themselves,” said the star edge rusher, who is orally committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide. “The defense is the rock of the team.”

In the second quarter, Turner blocked a punt and dove on the loose ball in the end zone to send the Raiders (6-1) into halftime with a 22-0 lead at Brian Piccolo Memorial Stadium. In the third quarter, safety Isaiah Taylor picked off Indians quarterback Colin Blazek in the end zone and ran it back more than 100 yards for a touchdown to push the lead up to 29-0.

Venice, which threw 57 passes, scored its only touchdown with 1:16 left in the third quarter on a drive starting at midfield because of a St. Thomas Aquinas fumble. After they jumped out to a 15-0 lead in the first quarter, the Raiders were content to mostly keep the ball on the ground and let their defense clinch a spot in the 7A semifinals next Friday against Valrico Bloomingdale in the Tampa Bay area.

“Our objective is to move the chains,” coach Roger Harriott said. “It’s difficult for most teams to drive 80 yards on our defense, so we like to play the field-position game.”

His defense, loaded with seven defensive linemen and linebackers committed to Division I programs, did exactly it was asked. The Raiders sacked Blazek five times and intercepted him twice. Star defensive lineman Tyreak Sapp, who’s committed to the Florida Gators, dropped Blazek twice before leaving with an injury in the third quarter and Turner sacked him once. Taylor’s interception, in the opening minutes of the second half, crushed any hope at a second-half comeback for the Indians.

Venice (10-4) began the third quarter at its own 20-yard line and Blazek guided the Indians down to the goal line in 14 plays. On the 15th play of the drive from St. Thomas Aquinas’ 3, Blazek tried to force a throw to star wide receiver Weston Wolff. Star defensive back Tyson Russell, committed to the Vanderbilt Commodores, batted a pass into the air and Taylor plucked it out of the sky, then followed his teammates into the opposite end zone with 8:11 left in the quarter.

“In my head, I was like, Isaiah, please catch the ball,” Turner said. “It felt like a real turning point. That just shows how good our defense really is in the red zone, of course. That just showed how much heart we play with.”

Blazek, who was just 10 of 25 for 102 yards in the first half, finished 27 of 57 for 245 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions as Venice started to move the ball in the second half while playing from behind. The Raiders also forced three turnovers on downs, all while backed up inside their own 25.

Anthony Hankerson, once again, made it all possible. The star running back averages more than 100 yards per game and he carried St. Thomas Aquinas’ offense again this week. The junior ran 31 times for 133 yards and two first-half touchdowns — plus a two-point conversion — to let the Raiders play a significant lead for most of the game.

In Round 5, St. Thomas Aquinas scored a fourth victory against the Indians. Now the Raiders, whose 11 titles are tied for the most in Florida High School Athletic Association history, are two wins away from a second straight championship.

“It’s a familiar face and we kind of look at it from a logistical standpoint. We’re not really focused too much on the actual team. We want to make sure to put our guys in the best position possible to execute and not get so caught up in the emotional aspect.”