FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) – The high school sports spring calendar has reached the playoffs.
Hoping to make a long run in the postseason is the St. Thomas Aquinas boys lacrosse team.
The Raiders, who ranked fifth in the state and 13th nationally, are on a mission to go back-to-back as Class 2A state champs.
“We bring the heat every single time we step on the field for sure,” said St. Thomas forward James Finch. “When we bring that intensity, it puts fear into the opponents, you know what I’m saying? We want to come out in the first five minutes is what we talk about every time we step on the field.”
Finch is one of the Raiders’ team captains, and next spring, he’ll play at Ohio State University.
The program is led by legendary head coach Terry Crowley, a U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Famer, and the all-time winningest coach in Florida history.
“I think every young man that comes into the program understands this is where the bar is, we’ve got to work hard,” said Crowley.
Caden Bennett, who wears 33 for the squad, is a sophomore defenseman, who’s also a linebacker on the Raiders’ football team.
“The lateral movements, getting up and down the field, the conditioning, they all correlate together,” said Bennett.
The Raiders’ playoff run will consist of seven total games. If they win each match, they will earn the school’s fifth state championship on the second weekend of May in Naples.
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