Raiders head to West Point for out-of-state clash St. Thomas Aquinas will face fellow football power Don Bosco Prep (N.J.) September 11, 2014|By Steve Gorten, Sun Sentinel FORT LAUDERDALE — – Theyve played in The Jungle in Cincinnati and The Horseshoe at Ohio State. Theyve stomped a defending high school national champion in the refurbished New Orleans Superdome that had months earlier hosted a Super Bowl. And theyve seen replays of themselves on the 72-foot-tall video board at the Dallas Cowboys $1.2-billion home in Arlington, Texas Stadium. And theyve rallied on the home field of a high school in Hoover, Ala., whose program was once the subject of an MTV documentary series, and beat Tim Tebows team in the first prep football game ever televised by ESPN. Now, in whats become a nearly annual football pilgrimage to face an out-of-state power, the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders are set to take on Don Bosco Prep out of Ramsey, N.J., at a Revolutionary War site turned National Historic Landmark -- the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. The teams will play at Armys historic Michie Stadium at 4 p.m. Saturday in a matchup that will be televised live by FOX Sports Florida. If youve noticed our history of out-of-state games, weve tried to play at a venue that you might never, ever go to, but youve seen a million times, said St. Thomas athletic director George Smith. When you travel, you try to [incorporate] something that may be cultural, or a unique atmosphere. Its a great experience for the kids. Theyre fired up about it. The Raiders, No. 1 in MaxPreps composite national rankings after a 38-7 season-opening win Aug. 29 against American Heritage and a bye last weekend, will try to avenge their only loss in nine games against teams from outside of Florida the past six seasons. St. Thomas lost to Don Bosco 20-10 at home two years ago. Said Raiders coach Rocco Casullo, a Syracuse, N.Y. native, When we travel out of state, were playing for the state of Florida, and thats what I tell our players. The Raiders can enhance their national reputation and 2014 national title chances with a triumph against the 16th-ranked Ironmen at venerable West Point. Said St. Thomas senior center Daniel Evers: So much history in one spot, whether youre talking about football or where our officers are trained. So its crazy we get to tour that place and relive some of that history. It makes us proud. Raiders players, coaches and staff, wholl fly into Newark on Friday and then bus to West Point, about 50 miles north of New York City, are scheduled to take a 75-minute guided tour of the campus, which sits along the Hudson River and renown for its neo-Gothic inspired buildings. The team will then hold a late-afternoon walk-thru on a practice field adjacent to Michie Stadium. Its a great opportunity and an honor to play at West Point, left guard Philip Parchment said, but once were up there, its strictly business.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 16:08:29 +0000