No. 8 St. Thomas Aquinas blanks Lakeland for 2nd Straight Year in FHSAA 5A Title Game

Raiders get 5 field goals from Johnny DiSalvatore, two 4th-quarter touchdowns to win 29-0 and capture their 7th straight state championship

Nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas defeated Lakeland, 34-0, in last year's Class 5A state title game. The schools face off again for the 5A championship on Thursday, Dec. 11, at FIU's Pitbull Stadium in Miami. / Jeff Romance / Special to the USA Today Florida Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Make it seven state championships in a row, 17 overall, for the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders.

The Raiders, ranked No. 8 nationally by High School on SI, continued their dominance on the football field with a 29-0 victory against Lakeland on Thursday night at FIU’s Pitbull Stadium in Miami. Their 17 state championships are the most in FHSAA history.

Aquinas (14-1) got a little bit of everything in dispatching Lakeland (12-2), a nine-time state champ that struggled to get into an offensive rhythm all night.

The Raiders got a state record-tying five field goals from senior kicker Johnny DiSalvatore, whose accurate leg staked them to a 15-0 lead through three quarters when their offense couldn’t find the end zone.

DiSalvatore won the game’s Most Valuable Player Award for his efforts.

Meanwhile, Aquinas’ defense helped keep the South Florida power in the game, chasing and sacking Lakeland star quarterback Kelin Hendrix all night long and forcing three turnovers. The defense’s play gave the offense time to sort things out and the Raiders added on two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to finish the scoring.

Jaden Desir and Morris Choice scored on TD runs for Aquinas.

Statistically for Aquinas, Mallory completed 21 of 32 passes for 261 yards and rushed eight times for 104 yards; Julius Jones caught seven passes for 127 yards; and Duke Daley and Donovan Adras made 10 tackles each.

Despite the loss, Lakeland got a gutsy performance from Hendrix, who time and again bounced back from sacks and negative plays to engineer drives. But the multiple turnovers ultimately hurt the Dreadnaughts’ chances to win a second state title in three years.

Hendrix rushed 24 times for 137 yards but completed only 11 of 24 passes for 89 yards.

Pre-game Notes

Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, which has won a Florida-best 16 state championships, will try to win its second consecutive title when it takes on familiar rival, Lakeland. This will mark the eighth time the schools collide for all the marbles, with the Dreadnaughts holding an 5-2 edge. Lakeland is tied with Miami Central for most state titles (9) won by a public school.

Live Updates

(Refresh this page repeatedly throughout the contest for live updates and analysis)

1st Quarter

Lakeland kicks off to St. Thomas Aquinas. Penalty forces re-kick.

Senior QB Mason Mallory has St. Thomas Aquinas on the march.

BIG PASS from Mason Mallory to Julius Jones puts Raiders inside 20-yard line!

St. Thomas Aquinas drives to Lakeland 2-yard line but can't punch it in. Raiders close with 17-yard field goal by Johnny DiSalvatore. STA 3, Lakeland 0, with 8:22 left.

Speedy STA defense forces Lakeland into 3-and-out on Dreadnaughts' first possession!

Mason Mallory and Julius Jones continue to inflict damage.

Lakeland "D" forces punt with 4:44 left. STA leads 3-0.

Aquinas DE Shiloh Dent wreaking havoc on Lakeland.

AQUINAS long pass from Mason Mallory to Julius Jones to set up Raiders inside Lakeland 15-yard line.

FIELD GOAL! Aquinas gets 30-yard FG from Johnny DiSalvatore to push Raiders up 6-0 with 52 seconds left in 1Q.

ARMY signee Phillip Goodrich makes big stop for Aquinas to end the quarter. Raiders lead 6-0.

2nd Quarter

Lakeland struggling to get going offensively.

Dreadnaughts convert 2nd consecutive third-down play behind Lakeland QB Kelin Hendrix.

Lakeland's Kelin Hendrix throws for 1st down. Naughts at midfield. But then Aquinas' Jaden Carey intercepts a pass to end the drive.

Lakeland "D" then stuffs Aquinas as Deonte Fielder makes great open-field tackle to force punt.

Dreadnaughts inside Aquinas 30-yard line.

AQUINAS defense sacks Lakeland QB Kelin Hendrix, forcing punt.

AQUINAS on the move! Multiple big passes from Mason Mallory to Julius Jones. Raiders inside Lakeland 20-yard line.

Mason Mallory throws nice pass to Levi Thomas to set up 30-yard FG from Johnny DiSalvatore -- his third of the game -- with time running out to give Aquinas a 9-0 halftime lead!

HALFTIME

3rd Quarter

Aquinas' Zayden Gamble intercepts Lakeland pass on second-half opening series.

Raiders drive inside Aquinas 20-yard line but can't punch it in. Johnny DiSalvatore kicks 33-yard FG with 10:08 remaining to push Raiders ahead of Lakeland, 12-0.

Lakeland forced to punt but punter Brycen Fischer bobbles snap and tackled behind line of scrimmage. Aquinas takes over deep inside LHS territory.

Aquinas gets 33-yard field goal from Johnny DiSilvatore -- his 5th of the night -- to give the Raiders a 15-0 lead against Lakeland with 7:23 left in the 3rd quarter.

Aquinas defense sacks Lakeland QB Kelin Hendrix to force 4th down, but Naughts get new life when Aquinas LB Phillip Goodrich Jr. is penalized 15 yards for a personal foul, then ejected from the game.

Lakeland drives inside STA 30-yard line. Timeout.

AQUINAS DE Daniel Norman sacks Lakeland QB Kelin Hendrix for huge loss. Then, Lakeland attempts fake punt that fails.

END OF THIRD QUARTER: St. Thomas Aquinas 15, Lakeland 0

4th Quarter

Penalties continue to plague both schools.

AQUINAS junior DT Chase Goodrich sacks the QB.

Lakeland takes its final timeout with 9:05 left. Dreadnaughts' Chase Goodrich and Wyatt Smith smother QB Kelin Hendrix on 4th down.

AQUINAS QB Mason Mallory rips off 66-yard run to set up short TD run by Jaden Desir. Raiders lead Lakeland, 22-0, with 7:58 left.

FUMBLE! Lakeland QB Kelin Hendrix loses ball, Aquinas DL Mekhi Bradley recovers!

Senior RB Morris Choice rumbles in for 6-yard TD to put Aquinas up 29-0 over Lakeland with 6:27 remaining.

AQUINAS defense forces turnovers on downs! Raiders running clock out.

FINAL: St. Thomas Aquinas 29, Lakeland 0. Raiders win 7th straight title!

	1	2	3	4	F
Lakeland	0	0	0	0	0
St. Thomas Aquinas	6	3	6	14	29

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Players to watch

Lakeland

Kelin Hendrix, Jr., ATH -- At quarterback, 1,705 yards passing, 22 TDs, five interceptions.

Ahnarri Cooper, Soph., RB -- 892 yards rushing, 11 TDs.

Cameron Fuse, Soph., WR -- 27 catches, 541 yards, six TDs

Drew Sapp, Jr., DE

Deonte Fielder, Jr., DB

St. Thomas Aquinas

Mason Mallory, Sr., QB -- 2,057 yards passing, 23 TDs, six interceptions; 654 yards rushing, nine TDs.

Julius Jones, Jr., WR -- 51 catches, 750 yards, 14 TDs.

Virgil Lemons, Jr., RB -- 715 yards rushing, seven TDs.

Wyatt Smith, Jr., DE/TE -- 110 tackles, including 59 solo and 21 for loss, 11 sacks.

Jermiyah Douglas, Sr., CB/ATH -- Western Carolina signee; 46 tackles, including 38 solo; four interceptions.

Phillip Goodrich, Sr., LB/RB -- Army signee; 102 tackles, including 64 solo and 16 for loss.

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Jeff Gardenour can be reached via email at jgardenour1962@gmail.com or X @JMarkG1962