The Piper Bengals will square off against the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are still undefeated (Piper has three wins , while St. Thomas Aquinas has four dating back to last season).
Last Tuesday, Piper made easy work of Cooper City and carried off a 26-6 win. With the Bengals ahead 26-6 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.
Piper found their leader in freshman J' Alliyah Shorter, who picked up 62 receiving yards and one touchdown, and also rushed for 36 yards.all of that, receiving production came thanks to one massive catch D' Yanni McDowell was in the mix too, providing Piper with two touchdowns.
Piper didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off five passes before the game was over. McDowell led the group effort, picking up two of those interceptions all by herself. Morvia Stephenson got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Meanwhile, St. Thomas Aquinas got themselves on the board against McArthur on Monday, but McArthur never followed suit. They claimed a resounding 60-0 victory over the Mustangs. That looming 60-0 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Raiders yet this season.
Piper better keep an eye on Sherice Newton. She was instrumental in St. Thomas Aquinas' win, throwing for 179 yards and four touchdowns while completing 75% of her passes, and also punching in one touchdown on the ground. Newton is crushing it when it comes to passing touchdowns: she's passed for at least three every time she's taken the field this season.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to St. Thomas Aquinas' defense and their three sacks. In fact, those sacks all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Aimee Colson. St. Thomas Aquinas got some further help from Ronneisha Thomas: she made one tackle and snagged four interceptionstwo of which were returned for touchdowns.
St. Thomas Aquinas pushed their record up to 4-0 with the win, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 27.5 points. As for Piper, their victory bumped their record up to 3-0.
Piper took their win against St. Thomas Aquinas when the teams last played back in February of 2024 by a conclusive 33-13. The rematch might be a little tougher for Piper since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
