Marc Narducci: St. Augustine beats Holy Spirit, 28-21, for title

"I wouldn't say this was my best game - but it was the most exciting," he said. "The fan support for this was great."

There was a big crowd on a chilly night and it truly felt like a home game to Thomas, who lives in nearby Ventnor Heights.

Ranked No. 4 in South Jersey by The Inquirer, St. Augustine (8-0) hasn't broken a sweat in most of its games this season. The closest game before last night was a 31-16 win over the other Cape National contender, St. Joseph.

So even though Thomas now has thrown 71 career touchdown passes, there is always that undercurrent - questioning the competition.

Those questions haven't been asked about Holy Spirit lately. The Spartans were 12-0 and The Inquirer's No. 1 ranked team in 2007 - and in a so-called rebuilding season went 7-3 last year and gave St. Augustine all it could handle before losing, 26-24.

This year, the Spartans entered the game 6-1, with only a 19-14 loss to St. Joseph. And if anybody is looking for a preseason favorite next season, the Spartans wouldn't be a bad choice.

So this was a true chance for Thomas to show his ability and the Hermits needed every ounce of effort, not to mention each of the four scoring passes to four different receivers.

One of the biggest plays came when St. Augustine had a third and 14 from its own 26-yard line with under three minutes remaining.

Thomas kept the drive alive with a 22-yard completion to Stephen Dombrowski on a post pattern and Holy Spirit would not get the ball again.

"I thought the post would work in that situation," Thomas said.

It obviously works better when the quarterback has the requisite gun for an arm plus great accuracy.

It's a good thing Thomas was on his game, because Holy Spirit junior quarterback Joe Callahan showed that when the list of top signal callers in South Jersey for next year is released, he won't be that far down the chart.

Callahan threw for more than 300 yards and one TD.

"He made the plays he needed to in order to win," Callahan said of Thomas. "He's broken a lot of records, so something like this isn't a surprise."

Holy Spirit might be a year away in some people's minds, but the Spartans looked mighty tough in the present.

And of course so did St. Augustine.

While winning a state title will be difficult with the presence of national power Don Bosco Prep in Non-Public A, Thomas and St. Augustine can dream.

With the way he has evolved as a leader, Thomas feels that no challenge is too big to tackle.

And if anybody saw Thomas flinging footballs around his neighborhood field, they would realize that any team with a difference-maker at quarterback will always be dangerous as the postseason approaches.

For Thomas, the future can wait because he's having too much fun winning in the present.

St. Augustine 7 7 14 0 - 28

Holy Spirit 7 7 7 0 - 21

S: Gabe Voumard 22 pass from Dustin Thomas (Chris Gough kick)

H: Nigel Jones 3 run (Tommy Worthington kick)

H: Troy Beck 29 pass from Joe Callahan (Worthington kick)

S: Ed Charlton 8 pass from Thomas (Gough kick)

S: Stephen Dombrowski 39 pass from Thomas (Gough kick)

S: James Goodroe 13 pass from Thomas (Gough kick)

H: Jones 1 run (Worthington kick)