St. Thomas wins district title

 
St. Thomas shook off a slow start, trailing 10-0 and responded by scoring on its next six drives.
A highly anticipated matchup fail to meet expectations Friday night.  St. Thomas defense had much to do with it, throwing a wrinkle, as it held St. Pius X to 19 points.
To frustrate the Panthers more, quarterback Michael Keating had a hand in all of the Eagles scoring drives.  Including five touchdowns through the air and two rushing as St. Thomas earned the district title by thumping the Panthers 49-19 at Parsley Field.
With the win, the Eagles (9-1, 4-0) earned a first-round playoff-bye and its unknown who they will face in the second round.
Quarterback Michael Keating was flawless 425 passing yards on a night where over 7,000 fans watched him put up five touchdowns through the air while rushing for two addition scores.
“We just came out here and tried to execute and to do whatever we could to win,” says St. Thomas quarterback Michael Keating.”   “It was for the district championship. We knew it was going to be tough, but it was two good teams.”
He also had the backing with big, talented targets in 6’3” receivers Jhamon Ausbon, who caught seven passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns. And Landon Malouf had five receptions for 131 yards and two touchdowns.
“We came out and executed what we needed to do,” St. Thomas receiver Landon Malouf said.”  “We had a mental state about what we needed to do and how we were going to do it.  I was giving him (Eagles quarterback Keating) an eye view of how they were playing us and what to look for. “
Several times Panther defenders had Keating in the grasp, but the strong-willed quarterback fought off defenders to make big play after big play.
An early ten point St. Pius (8-2, 3-1) lead evaporated quickly as Keating helped the Eagles shake off a slow start with short passes and keepers.
“Yes, we started fast and then we came out and had a couple of un-sportsman like penalties,” explained Panthers coach Stephen Hill.  “And that’s not us.”
It’s first two drives stalled out, but St. Thomas scored touchdowns on its next six drives and never looked back.
“It’s been a while since we’ve played in a big game,” says St. Thomas coach Tim Fitzpatrick.”  We had some blowouts and we got hit in the mouth and our kids responded to that. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”
With a chance to pen the Eagles behind the line of scrimmage after defensive lineman Kelechi Anumdu sacked Keating at the 28, St. Pius was tagged with a un-sportsman like penalty, giving St. Thomas a fresh set of downs at the 45.
“You can’t beat a good team with penalties, “said Hill.  “I told the team before the game, we can’t earn their respect until we go out and beat them. You can’t beat anybody by giving them second chances.”
Keating and the Eagles made it look easy, trimming the Panthers lead to two points, after its first scoring-drive of 75-yards.
Keating directed an offense with rushing and passing until he broke free for a 25-yard pickup down to the Panthers five-yard line.  One play later, Keating spotted receiver Jhamon Ausbon for the five-yard touchdown catch and running back William Heck broke a tackle on his way to the end zone for the two-point conversion, drawing the Eagles within two points at 10-8.
Before that, Clay Roberts directed the Panthers offense with a three-play touchdown drive which included two quick passes to receiver Terrance Franklin, who turned both short catches into positive yards down to the Eagles 35.  Roberts then found running back Alex Ferguson down the middle of the field as scored to complete a 35-yard touchdown to give St. Pius a 7-0 lead with 10:02 left in the first quarter.
In limited action for the Panthers, Roberts completed 19-31 attempts for 166 yards and a touchdown.  Franklin had five receptions for 82 yards and Minkoff caught six passes for 80 yards.
After, St. Thomas’ unproductive drive of dropped passes watched St. Pius as it took advantage, using the leg of talented kicker Ryan Buckley, who nail a 45-yard field goal with ten yards to spare. That made the score 10-0.
St. Pius battled penalties, mistakes and an Eagle defense that stiffened in the second half.
Meanwhile, the Eagles offense were unstoppable as it built 21-10 lead.  Keating scored on a one-yard sneak and later tossed a short swing pass to Ausbon, who flashed his division one talent by gaining the sideline, and broke a tackle enroot to a 75-yard touchdown sprint.
“It was a bubble route for a read-play,” St. Thomas receiver Jhamon Ausbon said.”  “When I caught it, I saw the defender bite hard, so I cut back and took off. We practice it every day.”
The Panthers looked all but done.  Facing fourth and nine, Roberts completed a 36-yard pass to Franklin, who took the ball to the one yard where running back Robert Ferguson carried it into the end from a yard out.  The two-point conversion fail which left the score 21-16.
Both teams traded scores on its next drives.
Keating and St. Thomas capped a 75-yard drive with a 54-yard pass to Malouf, who outwitted cornerback Perry Carter in a toggle-of-war for the ball as he escaped for the touchdown.
Then Buckley’s 49-yard field goal, again with yards to spare gave St. Pius its final point total 28-19.
Playing while nursing a slightly torn ACL, which was hanging by a pair of fibers, Panthers’ Roberts completely tore his ACL in the third quarter with 6:00 minutes left. He was in the pocket when his knee gave way as he collapsed to the turf and fumbled the ball.
“Clay Roberts had a torn ACL but tried to go,” Hill said.  “All the respect to him. Now we have to make do with the freshman.”
The injury occurred in week six of the season when the Panthers played Tomball Concordia Lutheran.
Dropped passes, mistakes, and turnovers were all a part of a poor second half for the Panthers.
While the Eagles held St. Pius scoreless in the second half, it continued to add to the scoreboard when Keating connected with receiver Heck who was wide open for a 39-yard touchdown reception.  Keating added a one-yard keeper to push its lead 42-19 with 1:17 left in the third quarter.
St. Pius freshman backup quarter Grant Gunnell was greeted with a sack before he threw a 40-yard pass to Nick Minkoff down at the Eagles 30 yard line. TA couple of plays later, Gunnell’s pass was picked off by defensive back Peyton Ross at the St. Thomas 14.
Gunnell’s night concluded going 4-6-1 with 74 yards.