Aquinas readies for yet another game with Stratford

Aquinas head coach James Leonard said his teams have played the same team twice in a season one time in his 13-year coaching career. And they never have played the same team three times in one season.

That will change Friday night.

Aquinas hosts Stratford, which it has defeated twice this year, in the semifinals of the GHSA Class A private school playoffs. Aquinas also beat Stratford last season.

"Stratford is probably the most difficult opponent we have ever played, and playing them again this year will make it tough to advance to the championship game," said Leonard, whose team is 11-1. "Every time we have played them, it has been extremely close, and that is exactly what we expect on Friday night. They are so well-coached, and it is very difficult to get ready for them once a year.

"Three times just makes it even more difficult. But we are at home, and we are the only team around here that is still playing football, so we are hoping for a great crowd and a great atmosphere for high school football."

Aquinas is led by senior quarterback Liam Welch, who has thrown for 1,742 yards and 16 touchdowns, and a running game led by D'Angelo Durham, who has 1,105 yards rushing with 15 touchdowns. Durham has rushed for 432 yards and five touchdowns against Stratford this season.

The Irish offense will get a boost from running back Chris Gates, who missed most of the second Stratford game when he suffered an ankle injury. Gates has 778 yards rushing with 13 touchdowns.

While Stratford cruised last week with an easy win over Pinecrest, Aquinas had to survive a missed field goal at the end of its game with Christian Heritage to hold on for a 28-27 win.

"It was a very close game that really should never have been that close," Leonard said. "They killed us with trick plays, but we had a great defensive stand at the end, and at this time of the year, any win is a good win."

Aquinas beat Stratford 28-27 last year and then 35-28 during the regular season this year. The Fighting Irish knocked off the Eagles 48-28 in the Region 7-A title game.

"I guess it has been somewhat of a rivalry the last few years, but with it being a swing game in the region, we might not even play each other next year," Leonard said. "I would have to say that it is a very friendly rivalry, because I probably have more respect for Mark Farriba and his football team than anyone else we play.

"They play the game the way it is supposed to be played, and we will just try and take what they give us. "

This story was originally published December 1, 2015 at 7:26 PM with the headline "Aquinas readies for yet another game with Stratford ."