Aquinas Coach James Leonard’s 100th win was delayed as Baldwin handed Aquinas a 19-7 loss on Friday, Oct. 18.
Leonard currently has 99 wins during his time as head coach at Aquinas.
The Irish were without top receiver Jack Rhodes Friday evening, and it showed as the Irish were held to zero points through the first three quarters.
“We are missing an offense; our offense was absolutely embarrassing,” Leonard said after the loss.
Baldwin running back Sadur Salahuddin scored the first touchdown of the game on a 45-rush. The two-point conversion failed, and the Braves led 6-0 with 6:06 remaining in the first quarter.
Neither team would score until Salahuddin scored his second touchdown to start the first quarter.
The Irish finally got on the board with 5:22 remaining in the game as quarterback Jim Franklin connected with wide receiver Billy Barrett for a 12-yard touchdown.
Baldwin recovered the onside kick and scored quickly, leading 19-27 with 4:28 remaining in the game. The Fightin’ Irish failed to convert on fourth down on their next offensive drive and it was too late as they lost 19-7.
The Irish also lost a few more starters due to injury Leonard said after the game. He also said changes on offense will have to come after the loss.
“We got to make a lot of changes on offense because we looked really bad,” Leonard said.
Aquinas (3-3, 2-2) will travel to play West Laurens (6-1, 4-1) next Friday, Oct. 25. Baldwin (3-3, 3-1) will return home to play Westside (6-1, 4-1) also next Friday.
Christopher Rickerson, an Augusta University graduate, has covered area sports for Augusta University, The Augusta Press and Augusta Good News. Subscribe to the Augusta Good News newsletter here.
