Bring on St. John Bosco.
St. Thomas Aquinas, ranked fifth in the nation by MaxPreps, had its tuneup before the regular-season opener and national clash with the fourth-ranked California powerhouse in a 39-0 preseason kickoff classic victory over Dillard at Aquinas on Thursday night.
“We’re positive about the outcome. We’re far from being satisfied,” St. Thomas coach Roger Harriott said. “We’re looking forward to matching up against St. John Bosco on ESPN next week.”
Leading by two scores at halftime, it wasn’t the same beatdown the Raiders put on the Panthers same time last year, but the defense was stout. The offense, while shaky at times, exhibited explosiveness.
Take Aquinas’ opening offensive possession, for example. The Raiders fumbled three times, recovering all — twice on snap exchanges between junior quarterback Curt Casteel and his center — they were able to keep the drive alive and Casteel connected with Virginia commit Tavares Kelly for a 43-yard touchdown down the right sideline.
“It was my first game starting, so I was obviously going to have some butterflies,” Casteel said. “I was mentally prepared, so I thought it wasn’t a problem.”
In the second quarter, Casteel hit Georgia commit Elijah Moore, wide open deep, for a 70-yard touchdown strike. Although the pass was slightly underthrown, the Dillard defensive back misread it, and Moore was able to basket-catch it and stroll easily into the end zone.
Casteel went 9-for-16 for 179 yards and three touchdowns, capping his night with a 15-yard touchdown to Teriq Phillips.
“Curt Casteel is a very talented, intelligent quarterback,” Harriott said. “He still has to work on getting a handle on the offense from an experience standpoint.”
Down 14-0 at the half, Dillard tried a squib kick to open the second half, but junior receiver Donald McCarthy picked it up and exploited an open hole through the middle to score.
The defense shut out Dillard. Nik Bonitto had a pair of sacks, Grayson Crozier recorded one and Louisville safety commit Trenell Troutman combined with Miami commit Al Blades Jr. for a pass breakup near the goal line before the end of the half.
The second unit came in after halftime, and juniors Jason Munoz and Jordan Battle made plays. Marcus Rosemy caught a touchdown from backup quarterback Kyle Engel and Samuel Durkee ran another one in late.
Dillard was able to control the clock offensively. Running back Keyondre White, an Akron commit and Chaminade transfer, ran hard and was around 50 yards. Senior quarterback Moise Francois threw for more than 100 yards, 31 of them on one deep pass to new Kentucky cornerback commit Stanley Garner, playing offense. He was hit hard by Troutman, his future Bluegrass State rival, but held on.
Last season, in the same preseason exhibition between the Fort Lauderdale schools — except at Dillard — the Raiders won 51-0.
Aquinas, looking to win its fourth consecutive state title this season, hosts Bosco to open the regular season at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 25.
“We need to minimize mistakes,” Casteel said. “If we go out there and play as good as we know we can play, then it won’t even be a game.”
Thursday’s other scores
Cypress Bay 21, Monarch 0; Plantation 33, N. Miami Beach 12
Wednesday’s scores
University School 35, Nova 0; Cooper City 10, Flanagan 6
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