St. Thomas Aquinas unfortunately couldn't capitalize on their home-field advantage in their season opener. They fell just short of the Mater Dei Monarchs by a score of 26-23 on Saturday. The close matchup was extra heartbreaking for the Raiders, who almost overcame a 23 point deficit.
St. Thomas Aquinas' loss came despite a true team effort from the offense with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Mason Mallory, who rushed for 89 yards and one TD, and also threw for 101 yards and one touchdown.
Mater Dei had a senior duo take command as Ryan Hopkins threw for 271 yards and three TDs while picking up 12.3 yards per attempt and Chris Henry Jr. picked up 135 receiving yards and a pair of scores. Henry Jr. really caught the secondary sleeping when he pulled down a catch that went for 81 yards.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. St. Thomas Aquinas will square off against Boyd Anderson at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The game will give the Raiders their first taste of in-conference action this season. As for Mater Dei, they will get to enjoy the win for a while: their next game is against Kahuku at 7:00 p.m. on September 5.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
