Jesuit’s Will Griffin throws 7 touchdowns in win over rival Tampa Catholic

Tigers shake off the sting of last year’s streak-ending loss to cruise by rival Crusaders

One year removed from the 22-year winning streak of wins over Tampa Catholic, the Jesuit Tigers have been itching to face its rival in the regular season finale. 

A lot of that has to do with Jesuit wanting to start a new string of victories against Tampa Catholic. 

Star sophomore quarterback Will Griffin would lead the way, as he threw a new program single-game record seven touchdowns in the Tigers’ 66-35 win over the Crusaders at Corral Memorial Stadium. The win secured the 23rd time Jesuit has defeated Tampa Catholic in 24 years. 

"I've never seen offensive output like that," Jesuit head coach Matt Thompson said afterwards to his team. "You guys will remember this game forever." 

Griffin is one of those players that will certainly not forget about this edition of Crusaders-Tigers, helping orchestrate one of the highest scoring totals in the rivalry's history. The sophomore's stat line on the night had Griffin finishing completing 24-of-31 passes for 391 yards and seven scores. 

It wouldn't just be Griffin alone having all the offensive fun, with Notre Dame commit Justin Thurman and wide receiver Willy Suarez also joining in. Thurman finished the contest rushing for a game-high 201 yards on 18 carries and Suarez hauled in seven catches for 170 yards and three touchdowns. 

The Tigers (8-2) never trailed in the rivalry meeting as they exited the opening quarter already up 10-0. Jesuit broke the game open in the second quarter as Thurman scored on an 80-yard touchdown run and then Griffin found Suarez on a 25-yard scoring pass. 

Up 24-7, the Tigers' lead was never seriously threatened. By the end of the night, Jesuit amassed 637 yards of total offense and the 66 points was the most in the series since 2001 when the Tigers scored 49. 

Jesuit will enter the Class 3M playoffs as a No. 1 seed. 

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl