St. Thomas Aquinas Wins 7th Straight Title

MIAMI – Winners always find ways to come out on top, and for the 17th time, and seventh straight, Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas did just that on Friday night.   The Raiders (14-1) parlayed a strong defense and a state championship record-tying five field goals by senior Johnny DiSalvatore to cruise to a 29-0 win over Lakeland at Pitbull Stadium on the campus of Florida International University (FIU).   After Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna lost in the Class 1A finals earlier in the day, veteran head coach Roger Harriott and his team shares the spotlight with nobody else, and they stand alone in the illustrious history of Florida high school football.   The win also extended the Raiders' remarkable post-season winning streak to 35 in a row dating all the way back to their last loss, the 2018 state championship game when they dropped a decision to Lakeland program.   “Whenever you're driving down the field, you're thinking about winding up in the end zone,” said Aquinas head coach Roger Harriott after the win. “But when you have tremendous special teams, like we have every year, you have a great advantage. We put a tremendous amount of time and effort into that particular phase, so we have all the confidence in the world in our kicking game and we certainly leaned on that tonight.”   The first half came down to the DiSalvatore.   The senior gave St. Thomas Aquinas a 3-0 lead when he connected from 19 yards out with 8:23 left in the opening quarter.   When he booted a 30-yarder with :51 seconds left in the first quarter, the lead was extended to 6-0.   DiSalvatore gave St. Thomas Aquinas a 9-0 halftime advantage when he connected from 30 yards out.   The second half once again watched the defense limit the Dreadnaughts (12-3) while showcasing DiSalvatore, who connected from 33 with 10:11 left in the third quarter for a 12-0 lead, and from 33 again with 7:21.   “What a great way to end your high school career,” Disalvatore said. “Like Coach Harriott said, we put in a lot of time to our special teams.”   DiSalvatore, along with senior punter Conrad Tolerico kept Lakeland off the scoreboard, setting up a defense that posted its second shutout of the season.   As much as DiSalvatore put on an offensive show with the five field goals and two extra points, the night also belonged to senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='212270' first='Mason' last='Mallory'], who won a 6A state title last year at West Boca Raton.   Mallory completed 21 of 32 passes for 261 yards. He also got it done on the ground with 104 yards on eight carries.   Mallory guided two scoring drives in the fourth quarter. The first was capped off when [player_tooltip player_id='1638477' first='Jaden' last='Desir'] scored from the 1 with 8:00 left and extended the lead to 22-0. The second came at the 6:27 mark on a 6 yard run by Morris Choice III to make it 29-0.   BY THE NUMBERS   Besides Mallory on the ground, Choice (3-17) and Desir (5-16) pitched in.   Nationally rated junior receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1410835' first='Julius' last='Jones Jr.'] led the way with seven catches for 127 yards and sophomore Leroy Thomas finished with seven catches for 90 yards.   Defensively, senior Donovan Adras had 10 tackles and two of the Raiders' seven sacks. So did senior Duke Daley. Army-bound linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1154131' first='Phillip' last='Goodrich Jr']. (eight tackles), and Oklahoma signee [player_tooltip player_id='1628933' first='Daniel' last='Norman'] had six tackles and two sacks.   While they didn't score, Lakeland had 137 yards rushing from junior quarterback Kelin Hendrix and 41 yards for Ja'Darius Cooper.   Hendrix was 11 for 24 for 89 yards and was picked off twice.   On defense, senior Zephaniah Rogers (eight tackles), Christopher Cresser (seven tackles), Deonte Fisher (seven tackles) and under-the-radar senior [player_tooltip player_id='1581926' first='Ziggy' last='Riley'], who finished with five tackles.   LAKELAND DREANAUGHTS   Auburndale, W 31-21   Concord De La Salle, California, L 10-6   Lake Mary, W 32-13   Miami Booker T. Washington W 32-0   Lakeland Lake Gibson, W 40-0   Riverview Sumner, W 41-9   Sebring, W 34-7   Dover Specialty Fit, W 48-6   Lakeland Kathleen, W 44-6   Orlando The First Academy, L 35-28 (2 OT)   Wesley Chapel, W 35-0   Tampa Gaither, W 15-8   Orlando Edgewater, W 27-14   Ponte Vedra, W 40-13     ST. THOMAS AQUINAS RAIDERS   Santa Ana Mater Dei, California, L 26-23   Lauderdale Lakes Boyd Andeson, W 72-6   Miami Christopher Columbus, W 42-7   Davie Western, W 45-6   Hollywood McArthur, W 31-7   Hollywood Hills, W 63-0   NFL Academy London, W 41-38   Coconut Creek Monarch, W 31-20   Plantation American Heritage, W 19-12   Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna, W 27-21   Palm Bay Heritage, W 58-7   Coconut Creek, W 45-13   Hollywood McArthur, W 34-7   Fort Myers Riverdale, W 45-13     2026 PREP REDZONE FLORIDA STOCK UP EVENT. <a href="https://events.prepredzone.com/e/2137/register/stock-up-showcase-florida ">https://events.prepredzone.com/e/2137/register/stock-up-showcase-florida </a>   Statewide Coverage Daily. <a href="https://prepredzone.com/florida/">https://prepredzone.com/florida/</a>   You Can Contact Larry Blustein with prospect or team information at: Floridakids1@aol.com.   COACHES, PLAYERS: Do You Have A Subscription? 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MIAMI – Winners always find ways to come out on top, and for the 17^th time, and seventh straight, Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas did just that on Friday night.