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St. Thomas Aquinas continued to roll through its in-state schedule Friday night.
Running back Mike Epstein scored three touchdowns and quarterback Jake Allen threw for three scores as host St. Thomas Aquinas eased past Boyd Anderson, 42-7, at Brian Piccolo Memorial Stadium.
It marked the 13th meeting between the schools, with St. Thomas Aquinas now holding a commanding 12-1 series advantage. This one was never in doubt.
Epstein’s 3-yard rushing touchdown with six minutes to play in the first quarter gave St. Thomas Aquinas (5-2) the early 7-0 lead after the Marco Salani extra point, and a 5-yard TD strike from Allen to Josh Palmer gave the hosts the 14-0 advantage before the opening quarter came to a close.
With nine minutes to go in the half, the Raiders continued to pour it on as Epstein took an Allen screen pass 35 yards for the touchdown, pushing the hosts advantage at 21-0 after the Salani extra point.
Mike Epstein does it again. Takes a screen pass to the house. Great footwork and patience behind his blocks. STA leads 21-0 @HeraldSportsHS pic.twitter.com/LxGDOGJd2X
— Peter Ariz (@PeterAriz) October 21, 2016
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Just four minutes later, Allen aired one out to Mike Harley down the left sideline for a pretty 39-yard TD strike.
28-0 STA lead with 5:42 in the half left. Jake Allen to Mike Harley on the deep ball for the score. ⛽️⛽️ pic.twitter.com/hf2IgHDMyI
— Peter Ariz (@PeterAriz) October 22, 2016
With a 28-0 lead and 5:42 still left in the half, the rout was on.
The Cobras (5-3) got on the board when running back Willie Hunt scored from 2 yards out with 21 seconds to play in the half, bringing the score to 28-7 when the teams went to their locker rooms.
The damage was done, however. Epstein raced for his third score of the game from 15 yards out in the third quarter, making it 35-7 after the extra point.
Sam Llewellyn also had a rushing touchdown for the Raiders, while teammate Trenell Troutman had an interception.
St. Thomas Aquinas came in allowing an average of 11 points a game, but just 8.2 a game within the state. The Raiders held to form Friday night. Since losing in three overtimes at No. 1 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) on Sept. 30, 25-24, the Raiders have outscored two in-state opponents, 84-15, in a pair of victories.
St. Thomas Aquinas next hosts Blanche Ely on Oct. 28 in a key District 7A-14 contest, while Boyd Anderson visits Oakland Park Northeast that same night for a District 6A-15 contest.
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