St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders 24, De La Salle Spartans 14

Zion Turner threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score to lead St. Thomas Aquinas to a 24-14 win over De La Salle on Friday at Owen Owens Field in Concord.

This pair of national elite programs faced off in front of a packed house for a national television audience on ESPNU.

Oakland Raiders star and Miami native Antonio Brown was also in attendance. Brown spent a few minutes during halftime talking on the Raiders sideline with St. Thomas Aquinas assistant coach and pro football Hall of Famer Jason Taylor.

Fans saw a back and forth affair with the result in doubt until midway through the fourth quarter. The crowd that went standing room only 2-3 deep on the track saw the team USA Today believes is the top team in America.

The Raiders are also ranked tenth in the nation by MaxPreps, while De La Salle was ranked 19th by the website in its preseason rankings.

St. Thomas Aquinas (of Fort Lauderdale) improved to 2-0 against the Spartans. Their last win was a 30-6 victory in 2011 in Florida. Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa had a standout performance in that game. This is their second win over a California team in three seasons. They beat St. John Bosco 9-6 in 2017 in South Florida.

The history of these two programs has some eye popping numbers. St. Thomas Aquinas has 10 Florida State Titles, and 32 district championships. They won three state titles in the past five seasons, a three peat in 2014-2016.

De La Salle has seven California State Titles, and has won 27 straight sectional championships. They have won two state titles in the past five seasons.

De La Salle scored first, then trailed for the rest of the game. The Raiders led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter, 21-14 at the half.

The Class 7A State Runner-up from the state of Florida was solid in all phases of the game. They simply made more plays than De La Salle.

Both teams battled at the line of scrimmage with De La Salle holding its own despite being undersized on the defensive line against a line that has LSU commit Marlon Martinez, four-star senior Marcus Dumervil, and super sophomore Julian Armella.

De La Salle had opportunities and chances in the red zone but were simply unable to finish drives.

St. Thomas Aquinas sophomore Turner showed promise and poise in his first varsity game with 100 passing yards. He threw the ball with timing, feeding his crew of talented pass catchers.

Marcus Rosemy had the play off the night for St. Thomas Aquinas. The Georgia commit had a one hand 71 yard catch and run for a touchdown. The’Andris Freeman also caught a touchdown.

Derek Wingo was impressive on defense for St. Thomas Aquinas with 10 tackles. The linebacker also played some defensive end in a three point stance on the edge and was a tackling machine. The Florida commit’s ability to read the ball and make tackles was impressive. He had a sack as did fellow Florida commit Tyreak Sapp. Sapp set the edge and made plays in run support against the Spartans veer offense.

Colby Dempsey also made plays for the Raiders. The defensive back was good in coverage, had a long fumble recovery, and had an interception in final minute in a crowd alongside the St. Thomas Aquinas sideline.

De La Salle missed an opportunity in the final minute before the half when they were down 21-14. They fumbled the snap turning over the ball at the Raiders 11 yard line when driving for the potentially tying points.

De La Salle was led by the two headed senior running duo of Shamar Garrett and James Coby.

Garrett rushed for 187 yards and excelled on sides of the ball. He was shifty and quick rushing the ball and showed closing speed on defense. Coby rushed for two touchdowns and also played both ways in the secondary. He ran hard and ran away from defenders in the open field.

The Spartans passing game flashed in spurts with Dorian Hale. The junior, who threw for 1,215 yards as a sophomore, was under constant duress. He struggled with accuracy and timing in long yardage obvious passing downs against a Raiders secondary full of Division 1 prospects.

His leading receiver was Grant Daley, who had a 68 yard bubble screen and run. The senior also had a 15 yard slant to get a first down.

The Spartans defense was led by Ben Roe. The senior defensive lineman was strong at the point of attack and good stuffing the run, he had a seven yard tackle for loss.

Senior linebackers Lance Hackett and Tanner Dougherty each made tackles and were physical at the line of scrimmage. Dougherty looked good in coverage and had a pass breakup.

De La Salle scored on its second offensive play of the game, a 2 yard run by Coby. That was spurred by a 68 yard Garrett run to the three yard line. De La Salle led 7-0 with 11:17 left in the opening quarter.

The Raiders answered in six plays. Turner scored on an 11 yard quarter back keeper to tie the game at 7 with 8:29 left in the quarter.

The Raiders took a shot and scored on their next drive. Turner hit Rosemy on a 71 yard 1 hand catch and run on a streak to make 14-7 with 2:55 left in the opening quarter.

The Raiders then scored first in the second quarter. Turner hit Freeman on a 15 yard strike for a touchdown to make it 21-7 with 10:53 left in the second quarter.

De La Salle answered on three plays. Coby went 43 yards to make it 21-14 with 9:19 left in the second quarter.

The Spartans’ chances ended in the fourth quarter on 4th down from the 35 yard line when Hale’s pass intended for Lu Magia Hearns was knocked down and into the turf.

A few plays later St. Thomas Aquinas scored the first points of the second half and final points of the game. Noah Botsford drained a 38 yard field goal to make it 24-14 with 4:35 left in the game.

De La Salle heads south to play at Central Catholic of Modesto on Friday.

St. Thomas Aquinas hosts Bergen Catholic of New Jersey on Saturday.

Scoring Summary

St. Thomas Aquinas---14-7-0-3 = 24

De La Salle---------------07-7-0-0 = 14

First Quarter

DLS- Coby 2 yards, Brendon Moore kick good, 7-0 11:17.

STA-Turner 11 yards, Botsford kick good, 7-7 8:29.

STA-Turner to Rosemy 71 yards, Botsford kick good, 14-7 2:55.

Second Quarter

STA-Turner to Freeman 15 yards, Botsford kick good, 21-7 10:55.

DLS-Coby 43 yards, Moore kick good, 21-14 9:19.

Fourth Quarter

STA-Botsford 38 yard field goal, 24-14 4:35.