Story
Glades Central 27, Suncoast 8: Raiders QB L.J. Thomas passes for 3 TDs in win
Saturday, November 07, 2009
by
Joe Koch
Count Glades Central coach Jessie Hester as someone who doesn't especially like bye weeks.
"We tried to warn them that (Suncoast) is a resilient bunch and they will hit them in the mouth," the Raiders coach said after his team had a tougher-than-expected game before finally subduing Suncoast 27-8 at Al Sutton Stadium on Friday night.
Despite their sluggish play, the Raiders (9-0 and No. 1 in The Post) captured the District 7-2A championship with a record of 2-0. All that remains for Glades Central is next Saturday's Muck Bowl against archrival Pahokee.
"Our timing wasn't there, and they got a little lazy," Hester said of the Raiders. "That was particularly true with our offensive line. They're going to have to (play better next week)."
If the Raiders were suffering from any malaise, quarterback L.J. Thomas made certain it didn't last the entire game. Although he faced constant pressure, Thomas completed 13 of 23 attempts for 238 yards and three touchdowns. He connected with Demetrius Evans, Clive Walford and Gregory Dent on scoring passes of 9, 20 and 38 yards, respectively.
Dent scored the game's first touchdown on a 45-yard punt return less than five minutes into the game.
"He was able to get away when the protection broke down," Hester said. "And, he got the ball into the proper guy's hands."
Suncoast (3-5-1, 0-2) stopped four Glades Central fourth-down attempts and shut out the Raiders in the second half, two facets that pleased Suncoast coach Alan Williams.
"Our defensive ends played a (great) game," he said. "Timotheus Granger and Dominic Pettigrew kept pressure on (Thomas) all night long. The line, as a whole, really stepped up."
Williams, however, lamented his team's difficulties in moving the ball as the Chargers were held to minus-24 yards rushing. Glades Central was held to minus-6 yards rushing, but more than made up for that with the passing game.
"We couldn't move the ball on offense to give them a whole field to drive," Williams said. "We were constantly giving them a short field in the first half. When you give them 60 yards (to drive), that's like giving them a touchdown."
User Comments:
71 Raider commented on November 7, 2009 at 7:48 a.m.: flag
The Raiders are really on a roll. Congratulations!!
Now go out and whoop those Blue Devils.
Muchada commented on November 7, 2009 at 11:14 a.m.: flag
Them charger boys have some real potential and its just a matter of time til they really show what they got
pbhammer commented on November 7, 2009 at 3:29 p.m.: flag
I was at the game and the way they played Suncoast they might not have a chance with Pahokee... with that Johnson kid back in QB and that killer defense that Pahokee has Glades Central will have to come with their A game because it wont be a easy one
alwaysaraider commented on November 7, 2009 at 11:48 p.m.: flag
LOL at pbhammer!!! Killer defense? Johnson at QB? Both are jokes buddy. Robert Way punishes this kid Saturday.... mark these words.
Rampage Osborne #7 commented on November 8, 2009 at 3:06 p.m.: flag
The Chargers played respectively well in the second half, lets see if they could use that as momentum going into their last game of the season against Wellington.
Add Your Comment:
We'd like your thoughts on this topic. I appreciate your willingness to share them. We want to avoid comments that are obscene, hateful, racist or otherwise inappropriate. If you post offensive comments, we will delete them as soon as we can. If you see such comments, please flag them to notify us. -- Tim Burke, Executive Editor, The Palm Beach Post