Hurricanes brace for St. Thomas Aquinas

BRADENTON — Standing between Manatee and a berth in the Class 5A state championship game in the No. 1 team in the nation.

It’s a lofty ranking. And it’s one Joe Kinnan, the Hurricanes head coach, said he believes the Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders have earned.

“They’re extremely talented, they’re well-coached, and they’ve got great players,” Kinnan said. “They’ve won 37 games in a row, they’ve won the last two state championships, last year they won the national championship, and they dismantled Lakeland (in the Class 5A state final).

“And they’re better this year.”

It’s a scary thought, considering Aquinas (13-0) graduated 11 players last year who earned Division I scholarships. Friday, the Raiders head to Bradenton to face Manatee (12-1) in a Class 5A state semifinal, the third time since 2005 that the teams — winners of a combined nine state titles — have met in the final four.

“We hope we are up to the task,” Kinnan said.

The Raiders have a truckload of playmakers, including Lamarcus Joyner, a senior defensive back and a finalist for the U.S. Army Player of the Year Award. A transfer from Southwest Miami, Joyner has done a bit of everything — rushing (407 yards, four touchdowns), receiving (16 catches, 269 yards, four touchdowns) and returning kicks (three touchdowns on seven returns).

Junior quarterback Jacob Rudock, who won the job over California transplant Turner Baty, has completed 66.1 percent of his passes for 1,745 yards and 32 touchdowns, having been intercepted four times in 165 attempts. He threw for 196 yards and four touchdowns on Oct. 2 to lead Aquinas past Byrnes, N.C., ranked second in the nation at the time.

James White (124 carries, 1,116, 14 touchdowns) handles the running game, and Joyner and defensive back Cody Riggs (four interceptions) have been selected to play in the Under Armour All-America Game, and offensive lineman Brandon Linder and kicker Michael Palardy (9 for 12 on field-goal attempts, 53 of 56 on point-after attempts) are headed to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio.

“They may be the fastest team in America,” Kinnan said. “They’ve got no weaknesses.

“We would be the decided underdog.”

That’s fine, according to Manatee quarterback Brion Carnes, a senior who, along with receiver Ace Sanders, are the only two starters remaining from the team that lost to Aquinas in double overtime during the ’06 semifinal.

“I love it,” he said. “I love being the underdog. Everyone was saying if we got past Palm Bay Bayside, which we did (in last week’s regional final), we should just hang up our stuff. OK, OK ...”

Said Sanders: “We don’t buy into any of that. We’re just going to out, play hard and leave it all on the field.”

Friday’s winner will face either Tampa Plant or Lakeland — two of the top-100 teams in the country, according to Rivals100.com — for the state title Dec. 18 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.

Manatee began the season ranked 66th, making this four-team scramble for the Class 5A state title perhaps the best in the country.

“We’re excited about the opportunity to play. At the beginning of the year, we felt we could get to this point,” Kinnan said. “The object is to get to the state championship game.

“We want to try and advance. Whatever happens, happens — that’s why they play the games. And it should be a fun game.”