Aquinas handles McQuaid
An official placed the Most Valuable Player plaque into the hands of Mike Messina, but he said a group of teammates were the ones who handled the delivery.
Those guys were the Aquinas offensive linemen, who cleared the way for Messina to score two touchdowns during the Little Irish’s 31-17 win over rival McQuaid in the Section V Class A final on Friday night.
A junior running back, Messina finished with 134 yards on 25 carries at Marina Auto Stadium as Aquinas won a fourth consecutive title.
“We’ve had a great group of guys up there,” Messina said. “They worked hard in the offseason, and we jelled. We have something good going on.”
The season continues for the Little Irish (10-0), who will face Sweet Home (10-0) in a rematch of last year’s state quarterfinal, won by Sweet Home, at 8 p.m. Friday back at Marina Auto Stadium.
“Ever since we lost to Sweet Home we’ve wanted to get back and get a revenge game against (the Panthers),” Messina said. “This game was one we’ve waited our whole lives to play.
“We had an opportunity, and we had to take advantage of it.”
McQuaid took the first lead on a 30-yard field goal by Pat Jenkins. Aquinas led 7-3 at halftime however, after a 10-yard touchdown run by Tim Young.
A punt early in the third quarter gave Aquinas the ball back on its 34-yard line. Messina took a handoff on first down, burst past the line of scrimmage and outran McQuaid defenders during a 66-yard scoring run.
Just like that, Aquinas was in control, 14-3.
Aquinas senior quarterback Manny Magliocco let go of a pass down the middle of the field that Chris Bostick caught over coverage and took to the end zone for another quick-strike score early in the fourth quarter.
The Little Irish led 21-3, and there was a strong sense that unlike the regular season matchup, this game would not go into overtime.
“The kids did such a great job,” Aquinas coach Chris Battaglia said. “Our defense came alive in the second half.
“(McQuaid) threw the ball unbelievably well in the first game. We didn’t think they could throw it like that again.”
Messina added a 5-yard touchdown run with 9:30 remaining to give more room for the Little Irish defense to work with.
Aquinas senior defensive lineman Joe Tarana was active, to say the least.
He finished with 10 tackles, including three quarterback sacks and intercepted a tip pass.
“I’m ecstatic,” Tarana said. “The atmosphere was crazy, everyone was going nuts.
“All of my family went through Aquinas, my brother won two sectional titles, he was a center.
“This year went great, because I started and we won.”
