Davie, Fla. – Iowa-bound quarterback
Jacob Rudock looked very much the part of a college-bound quarterback, throwing for a school-record 333 yards and four touchdowns leading
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) to a 42-28 win over Georgia power
Camden County (Kingsland, Ga.) Friday night before a nationally-television audience at Brian Piccolo Stadium.
Rudock threw for a school-record 333 yards and 4 TDs.
Photo by Stuart Browning
Rudock completed 15 of 20 passes and helped legendary coach George Smith win his 350th game. Rudock broke the record of Dan Shula, who threw for 311 in 2001.
St. Thomas came into the game No. 22 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings and Camden County No. 11. The game pitted arguably the two elite programs from respective states.
“I’m glad we were able to pull off the win,” said Rudock. “We
represented our school and our state tonight, but most importantly we
represented our coach. We really wanted to pull this one off for him.”
The victory was St. Thomas' sixth in six nationally televised games during the past three seasons, and fifth against out-of-state opponents.
The Raiders (4-0) didn’t waist any time scoring as Rudock capped a 9-play, 80-yard drive with a 45-yard touchdown pass to receiver
Phillip Dorsett.
On the drive, Rudock also found receiver
Rashad Greene for a 60-yard completion to set up the score. Greene, a Florida State verbal, finished the contest with six catches for 148 yards.
The Wildcats answered the Dorsett score with a 2-yard touchdown run by running back
Kenny Hutchinson. Standout quarterback
Joel Ruiz assisted in the drive by completing a 57-yard pass.
The Raider defense, which has held its opponents to 7.3 points per game this season, had the Wildcats in punt formation, but an offside penalty allowed them to have another shot at the end zone.
After the kickoff, Rudock threw his second touchdown to Dorsett, this time, an 80-yard bomb which extend the margin 14-7 as the first quarter came to an end. Dorsett, a University of Miami verbal, finished with four catches for 137 yards.
“It was a great win for our team tonight,” said Dorsett. “The defense made plays, Jacob was awesome and the offensive line did a great job of protecting him. Everyone chipped in.”
After mustering only a field goal thereafter, highly touted safety
Marcus Roberson intercepted a pass from Ruiz and returned it 55 yards to the Raider 44-yard line. Five plays later, Rudock connected with junior receiver
Nico Shepherd from seven yards out to give his team a 24-7 lead at halftime.
The Wildcats, who won back-to-back Class 5A Georgia state championships and entered the contest averaging 54 points per game this season, could not muster any offensive rhythm in the first half but looked like a different team in the second after Hutchinson capped a 7-play, 80-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit, 24-14. Hutchinson led a rushing attack that amassed 376 yards for the Wildcats.
Camden (4-1) successfully completed an onside kick attempt that helped them regain possession at their own 35-yard line, where running back Hayden Boudreaux would score eight plays later. The six-yard run by Boudreaux helped Camden pull to within 24-21 with 4:40 left in the third.
Despite the offensive spark by the Wildcats,the defensive unit for St. Thomas continued its dominance after lineman Tyler Drake recovered a fumble from Hutchinson, which resulted in another field goal for the Raiders.
Rudock would then help St. Thomas add to its lead, 35-21, after scoring on a 1-yard run, then converting the two-point conversion with a pass to Dorsett.
With a little over five minutes left in regulation, the Wildcats, who defeated Central (Miami) 45-42 earlier in the season, put themselves in great scoring position after sophomore running back J.J. Green returned the Raider kick off 50-yards.
What looked like an opportunity for Camden, resulted in a game-changing play for Raider linebacker
Kenneth Hankerson, the younger brother of current Miami Hurricane receiver Leonard Hankerson. He forced a fumble from running back Carrington Wright which was recovered by Aquinas defensive back Johnny Joseph.
On the ensuing possession, Jamal Wilson helped seal the win for St. Thomas after bursting for a 58-yard run, which led to a 36-yard touchdown pass from Rudock to Greene. The score gave the Raiders a 42-21 lead over Camden with 2: 35 left in regulation.
The win helped Raider coach George Smith record his 350th win. Smith, in his 34th season, has led the Raiders to five state championships and a consensus national championship in 2008.
“I think our guys gave some great effort tonight,” said Smith. “Our defense played very well for us. There are a few things we still need to correct and work on, but for the most part, I’m really proud of how our guys played. This was a tough team and we gave them our all.”
