Coach Roger Harriott and his St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders celebrating their 3-PEAT (© Photo Copyright Florida Gridiron Preps)

Florida's Class 7A State Champion St. Thomas Aquinas will travel to THE STAR in Frisco, Texas to represent the Sunshine State in a nationally televised game vs. Utah powerhouse Bingham High. These nationally ranked powerhouses will collide in the GEICO State Champions Bowl Series on Friday, December 23, 2016. The game will start at 7:30MST, which is 9:30 EST in Florida, and will be broadcast LIVE nationally via ESPNU.

Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, a perennial national powerhouse who was initially ranked #1 in the country, just won their 3rd straight Class 7A State Championship. The Raiders won the state title in demanding fashion, dominating Florida powerhouse Tampa Plant 46-8, going into halftime up 43-8.

The 12-2 Raiders offense has dominated, averaging 40.79 points a game over 14 games.

University of Florida commit QB Jake Allen has excelled, (even in the absence of one of his main targets, Trevon Grimes*). Jake Allen stats: 152-245 (62.04%), 2263 yds, 30TD, 7INT. Allen threw for 329 yards and 5 TDs in a State Final game that was over at half time. Aquinas has playmakers at wideouts. West Virginia commit Mike Harley caught 5 passes for 133 yards and 3 TDs in the 7A State Final game. Syracuse commit WR Joshua Palmer has 8 TDS on 22 catches for the season, averaging 21.2 yards a catch. WR Jordan Merrell, a Florida Atlantic commit, has 5TDs and Florida International commit WR Jonathan Moore (33 catches, 3TD) is also a star at receiver.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS STATE CHAMPS

HARLEY DON'T HURT EM

VIDEO@Jakeallen_14 to Mike @harleyxvi for 24yd TD in 7A STATE FINAL#FLgridiron pic.twitter.com/Uz0iBNUsaX

— FloridaGridironPreps (@FLgridironpreps) December 15, 2016

The Raiders ground game is SOLID.....they have Illinois commit Mr. Mike Epstein in the backfield. Epstein, Sun-Sentinel's Broward Player of the Year, amassed 1,477 total yards and 20 TDs. And the Raiders backfield is stacked. South Carolina Gamecocks commit RB Kyshaun Bryan averages 7.3 yards a pop with 687 yards rushing and 7 TD. Junior RB Samuel Llewellyn has rushed for 5 TD and sophomore RB Daniel Carter has nearly 400 yards on the ground.

The defense has been stout as well for the Raiders. They have only allowed opponents 8.29 points a game, and the D has dished out 5 shutouts in 14 games. 6 of those 9 games in which teams did score, Raiders only alllowed 10 points or less.

Aquinas will face a formidible opponent in nationally ranked #11 Bingham (UT) Miners.

Bingham High School, out of South Jordan, Utah, is no stranger to elite Florida competition. They came to Boca Raton in the 2014 Burger King State Championship Bowl Series to face Miami Booker T. Washington. It was a tough fought game in which Miami Booker T. Washington came back and prevailed in Overtime with Tornadoes QB Maurice Alexander stretching for the win. And note that Miami BTW ran the table in 2014, going undefeated, capturing their 3rd straight title.

Bingham, Utah's Class 5A State Champion, beat Lone Peak 17-10 in the State Final. The 14-0 nationally ranked #11 Miners are stacked, boasting many highly-touted players including senior Defensive Linemen Jay Tufele (DT) and Langi Tuafua (DE), both ranked in the ESPN300.

Bingham (UT) offensive tackle Cole Clemens, who recently committed to Vanderbilt on the 16th of December, will anchor an offensive line that will open holes for the Miners running game.

The Miners have been doing their "Haka Dance" strong this season, going undefeated in their 14 game schedule.

Two years ago, the Miners were close to doing their "Haka Dance", but Miami Booker T. Washington was not hearing it. Expect Aquinas to do the same.

The GEICO State Champion Bowl Series will also feature a nationally televised game between Valdosta (GA) vs. Chandler (AZ).

---

For more information about the GEICO State Champion Bowl Series, visit http://www.geicobowlseries.com/

---

*The Raiders have been without 5-star All-American WR Trevon Grimes due to an ACL tear earlier in the season vs. Las Vegas Bishop Gorman