St Thomas - This Is for You Raider Haters out There

[OldSchoolLion 1,591]

Some folks love to hate the Raiders because of their dominance in recent years.  But did you know that between 1991-2006, ST Thomas Aquinas was 3-7 in state finals.  That's right...the Raiders were far from dominant.  4 of those losses came at the hands of Lakeland.  ...the other 3 losses....Pine Forest, Lincoln and Fort Walt Beach.  Even north FL had their number.

The Raiders' first trip to a title game was in 1991 in Gainesville, when their 13-0 squad faced 13-0 Ft Walton Beach.  Danny Wuerffel of FWB ran for two touchdowns, including a 77-yard option run in the first quarter, and passed for three others to lead the Vikings to a 39-14 victory over the Raiders in the battle of unbeatens.  Wuerffel completed 11 of 22 passes for 237 yards, including TD passes of 42, 24 and 58 yards. With his performance, Wuerffel set a state completion percentage record for a season with a 68.4 (167 for 244). Ironically, the previous record of 62.9 was set in 1981 by John Congemi of St. Thomas.  He went on to a storied career for the Gators, including a Heisman Trophy recognition.

Prior to that game, the Raiders had allowed only 3 TD passes during the entire season and had never trailed in a game.  The Raiders went with man-to-man coverage in the state final and paid dearly for it. 

 

 

[badbird 1,373]

10 trips to the finals in 16 years.  

[OldSchoolLion 1,591]

4 minutes ago, badbird said:

10 trips to the finals in 16 years.  

extremely impressive, but STA benefited greatly from VERY favorable playoff paths during those years.  In all those years, they only faced 2 different Miami-Dade programs in the playoffs, Edison and South Dade. 

Had STA been forced to face the Dade powers of the day, there is no way they would have made it to 10 finals.  If anyone doubts me, check the record books and see who they played.  Carol City, Northwestern and Southridge would have taken them out some of those years.  

[561_Fan 292]

Wuerffel was dropping DIMES

[OldSchoolLion 1,591]

FWB wide receiver catching TD at 1:25 and 2:20 ....

Ernest G. Green, or E.G Green as most Florida State fans knew him, was one of the top receivers in Florida State history over his four years in Tallahassee. Green redshirted during the 1993 national championship year, and had a small impact in 1994. He burst onto the scene for the Seminoles in 1995 with a 1007-yard year to go along with 10 touchdowns.

In 1997, his senior year, Green earned 2nd Team All-American honors with his second thousand yard season going for 1059 yards and 11 touchdowns. He finished his career with 2,920 yards and a 17.6 yards per reception average. Green left Florida State as the Seminoles' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, with 29 in his career. 

Green was drafted in the third round by the Indianapolis Colts and played three years in the NFL from 1998-2000.

Christian Green, formerly of Tampa Catholic and FSU (and one of the top wr's in the state Class of 2010), is a relative.

 

[561_Fan 292]

Didn't know that was E.G. Green

[954gator 480]

On 7/13/2019 at 8:32 AM, OldSchoolLion said:

Some folks love to hate the Raiders because of their dominance in recent years.  But did you know that between 1991-2006, ST Thomas Aquinas was 3-7 in state finals.  That's right...the Raiders were far from dominant.  4 of those losses came at the hands of Lakeland.  ...the other 3 losses....Escambia, Lincoln and Fort Walt Beach.  Even north FL had their number.

The Raiders' first trip to a title game was in 1991 in Gainesville, when their 13-0 squad faced 13-0 Ft Walton Beach.  Danny Wuerffel of FWB ran for two touchdowns, including a 77-yard option run in the first quarter, and passed for three others to lead the Vikings to a 39-14 victory over the Raiders in the battle of unbeatens.  Wuerffel completed 11 of 22 passes for 237 yards, including TD passes of 42, 24 and 58 yards. With his performance, Wuerffel set a state completion percentage record for a season with a 68.4 (167 for 244). Ironically, the previous record of 62.9 was set in 1981 by John Congemi of St. Thomas.  He went on to a storied career for the Gators, including a Heisman Trophy recognition.

Prior to that game, the Raiders had allowed only 3 TD passes during the entire season and had never trailed in a game.  The Raiders went with man-to-man coverage in the state final and paid dearly for it. 

 

 

STA beat Escambia in 99, but lost to Pine Forest the year after.   You got your PCola teams mixed up lol.         

[OldSchoolLion 1,591]

5 hours ago, 954gator said:

STA beat Escambia in 99, but lost to Pine Forest the year after.   You got your PCola teams mixed up lol.         

Thanks for catching my error!  I'll fix that in the original post.