Sports

By Solange Reyner
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ― After returning a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, Lamarcus Joyner dropped to his hands and knees as his legs started to cramp up. His teammates and coaches weren't the only onlookers. At this Friday night high school football game in Fort Lauderdale's Lockhart stadium, the crowd was a bit more elite.

Joyner scored two touchdowns, quarterback Jacob Rudock threw for 196 yards and four touchdowns and St. Thomas Aquinas defeated Byrnes South Carolina, 42-34, in a nationally televised match-up on ESPNU.

UF coach Urban Meyer, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano and Dolphins' linebacker Joey Porter had to be engrossed – the three stayed until the game was over. Meyer lingered even later to congratulate St. Thomas coach George Smith on the win.

"I get to meet great men all the time," Joyner said. "It was a good thing to see them on the sideline. It was good to show off in front of those guys – but it's football and I kept focused on the game."

St. Thomas (4-0) has won two consecutive 5A state titles, while Byrnes (5-1) has won six of the last seven titles in its division.

This is the second time this season that the Raiders are on a national stage. The team opened its season in Ohio when it played in the televised Kirk Herbstreit Classic and beat Upper Arlington high school 52-7.

The meeting – dubbed the top game in the country featuring USAToday's top-ranked team (Aquinas) against the No. 2 Rebels – provided plenty of hype, highlight reels, and VIP guests.

They all came out to watch some of the most coveted Division I prospects in the country, including Rutgers commit and quarterback Chas Dodd and running back Marcus Lattimore – rated the No.2 tailback by rivals.com – from Byrnes, and cornerback Cody Riggs – who has an offer from Florida – and running back and Iowa State commit James White from St. Thomas.

Both teams put up numbers on offense, but it was Byrnes that crumbled under the spotlight as the Rebels turned the ball over three times.

Byrnes couldn't outscore St. Thomas even though they had an edge in passing yards (416 to 196) and total yards (558 to 303).

"We played a team that is one of the better teams in the history of the school. We won the game and our kids fought all night," Smith said.

Joyner's touchdown in the fourth quarter broke the game open for Aquinas, which took a 35-21 lead on the kickoff return.

White sealed it when he caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Rudock with 3:04 on the clock.

How they scored:

Fourth quarter
St. Thomas 42, Byrnes 34
Jazz King catches his second touchdown of the night, but the score isn't enough as zero seconds remain on the clock.

St. Thomas 42, Byrnes 28
Jacob Rudock tosses his fourth touchdown of the night to give St. Thomas the lead for good with 1:39 on the clock.

St. Thomas 35, Byrnes 28
Chas Dodd connects with Torian Richardson on a 59-yard touchdown pass to get Byrnes within one touchdown.

St. Thomas 35, Byrnes 21
Lamarcus Joyner takes a kickoff return 93 yards with 9:58 on the clock.

St. Thomas 28, Byrnes 21
Jazz King gets the Rebels within one touchdown with 10:14 left.

Third Quarter
St. Thomas 28, Byrnes 14
Rashad Greene beats Zach Miller on one-on-one coverage and hauls in an 11-yard touchdown to put St. Thomas ahead by two touchdowns.

St. Thomas 21, Byrnes 14
Marcus Lattimore scores on a two yard rush after capitalizing on a St. Thomas fumble.

Second quarter
St. Thomas 21, Byrnes 7
Kenneth Hankerson returns a fumble 39 yards for a touchdown.

St. Thomas 14, Byrnes 7
Phillip Dorsett takes a 10-yard pass from quarterback Jacob Rudock and turns it into a 73-yard touchdown. Dorsett looked like he was taken down, but his knee didn't touch the ground - allowing him to take off to the end zone.

First quarter
St. Thomas 7, Byrnes 7
Raiders' quarterback Jacob Rudock connects with LaMarcus Joyner on a 48-yard pass play to tie the game.
The drive: 3 plays, 46 yards, 1:38.

Byrnes 7, St. Thomas 0
Marcus Lattimore scores on a one-yard run.

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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