St. Thomas Aquinas blanks Lakeland again for seventh consecutive state title

Pretty soon, they’re going to start running out of fingers for all the rings.

It was a struggle for a good portion of the night, especially offensively in the red zone. But when it was over it was another in a long line of state championships for Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas as the Raiders used stout defense and effective special teams play to shut out Lakeland 29-0 in the Class 5A state championship on Thursday night at FIU’s Pitbull Stadium.

It was championship No. 17 for St. Thomas, and the seventh in a row for easily the most dominant football program in the history of the state.

How dominant? No other program has ever won more than four titles in a row. Chaminade-Madonna had a shot at five earlier in the day but was upset by West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman. The Raiders, who finished 14-1, winning their final 14 games after a season-opening loss to Mater Dei of California, have now more than the next team on the list - Jacksonville Bolles (11).

Nationally, Aquinas is now one of 12 teams to have won at least seven consecutive state championships, with the national record of 14 in a row is held by two schools - Honolulu St. Louis (Hi.) from 1986-99 and Sioux Falls Washington (SD) from 1951-64.

The win also extended St. Thomas’ remarkable postseason winning streak to 35 in a row dating back to their last loss, the 2018 state championship game when they dropped a 33-20 decision to this very same Lakeland program. The Raiders have been unstoppable ever since having outscored their opponents in the postseason 1,502 to 380.

It was also a little bit of history-making for Aquinas quarterback Mason Mallory as well. It was a year ago that Mallory led West Boca Raton to a 6A state title before transferring to St. Thomas last spring. Mallory accomplished a rare, and possibly unique feat as a starting quarterback on back-to-back state title teams at two different schools.

“It’s definitely a blessing to have been put in this position and to play for coaches that believe in me,” said Mallory who was voted the game’s MVP after completing 21-of-32 passes for 261 yards while rushing for 103 on the ground. “I guess Leon Strawder has a chance to do it on Saturday, but I just feel blessed to be a part of that kind of history and to be able to help bring a seventh straight championship to this amazing program.”

Mallory referred to Plantation American Heritage quarterback Leon Strawder, who led Miami Northwestern to a state title last year and, after transferring to Heritage earlier this season, can do it for the Patriots on Saturday if they can defeat Orlando Jones in the 4A title game.

But Mallory and his offensive teammates were most thankful on this night to a defensive unit that basically shut down the potent Lakeland offense, holding the Dreadnaughts to 246 total yards and recording a second consecutive shutout of Lakeland after blanking them 34-0 in last year’s title game. Another thank you might’ve gone out to the special teams, primarily placekicker Johnny DiSalvatore.

On a night where the Raiders offense struggled mightily as far as being able to finish drives in the red zone, DiSalvatore tied a state championship game record as he successfully knocked five field goals right through the uprights.

In fact, those five three-pointers, from 19, 30, 30, 33 and 33, were the only scoring in the game over the first three quarters as the Raiders led just 15-0 entering the final frame. In addition, punter Conrad Tolerico averaged 40.3 yards on three punts, which helped the Raiders maintain a field position advantage.

“Whenever you’re driving down the field, you’re thinking about winding up in the end zone,” Aquinas coach Roger Harriott said. “But when you have tremendous special teams, you have a great advantage. I look at it as almost an unfair advantage because that particular phase of the game is neglected by most teams. 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.”

When Lakeland (12-3) reached the St. Thomas 20 early in the fourth quarter, it was the deepest penetration of the night for the Dreadnaughts who were in position to make it a one score game.

But an offensive pass interference penalty followed by back-to-back sacks by the Raiders, who harassed Lakeland quarterback Kelin Hendrix all night long, sacking him seven times, turned the ball over on downs.

On the very next play, Mallory broke loose on a quarterback option keeper down the left side and sprinted 67 yards before being knocked out of bounds at the Lakeland 2. Running back Jaden Desir went over from a yard out two plays later and it was 22-0 with 8:01 to play.

The Raiders defense recorded the final of its seven sacks on Hendrix three plays into the next drive, this time causing a fumble which defensive lineman Mekhi Bradley pounced on at the Lakeland 29. Three plays later, following a 17-yard completion from Mallory to Leroy Thomas, running back Morris Choice skirted around the right side for a 6-yard score with 6:27 left and it was time for the Raiders sideline to start celebrating.

“It was a great week of preparation and we came out here tonight believing in ourselves as a defensive unit and just executed,” said Aquinas linebacker Daniel Norman, an Oklahoma commit who recorded two of those seven sacks along with four other solo tackles. “I just want to thank our coaches, my teammates and everybody all the way down to the end of the bench. This was about everybody bringing the energy and the fire out there tonight.”

Class 2A state final - Sarasota Cardinal Mooney 52, Jacksonville Bolles 28: Led by running back Donnall Jackson, Cardinal Mooney captured its second state title in the last three years as the Cougars (14-1) rolled up 481 yards in total offense and scored touchdowns on all eight of their possessions.

Jackson finished with 160 yards on 26 carries and scored four touchdowns as he was named the game’s MVP.

Mooney had two other big offensive contributors in quarterback Davin Davidson and receiver Bo Odaniel. Even while splitting time with fellow quarterback Devin Mignery, Davidson still managed to complete 14-of-16 passes for 180 yards and three touchdowns. All three of those went to Odaniel who finished with 7 catches for 107 yards.

For Bolles, which finished 13-2, it was another frustrating runner-up finish. The Bulldogs, who trail only St. Thomas Aquinas for most state titles with 11, have now lost in the championship game six times (four of those to Miami Booker T. Washington) since their last title in 2011.