FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, Aug. 23 — Mater Dei has 13 penalties for 140 yards, and they’ve been keeping St. Thomas Aquinas in the game. The Raiders did score a touchdown to make it 26-10, and then they drove down to Mater Dei’s 1-yard line. The Monarchs held on 4th-and-goal. It’s at least getting interesting.
The No. 1 Mater Dei [Santa Ana, CA] Monarchs are taking on the No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas [Fort Lauderdale, FL] Raiders in Fort Lauderdale in one of the feature games of the Broward County National Football Showcase.
The victor will end the game with, arguably, the biggest win so far in the young 2025 season. The loser will be on the outside looking in with only the narrowest of paths remaining to stay in the hunt for a national championship.
The Monarchs are the two-time defending national champions entering the game, and they’ve won at least a share of the mythical title in six of the past eight seasons. They’ve passed several of the nation’s historical leaders in terms of total number of national titles during that span. That includes legendary programs like the Archbishop Moeller [Cincinnati, OH] Fighting Crusaders, Miami [FL] Stingarees, and Valdosta [GA] Wildcats.
Almost half of California’s Class of 2026’s Top 10 is enrolled at Mater Dei. It starts with tight end Mark Bowman (USC), who stands above all others as a 5-star prospect, but also includes 4-star talents in OT Kodi Greene (Washington), WR Chris Henry Jr. (Ohio State), and WR Kayden Dixon-Wyatt (Ohio State). It’s one of the greatest assemblages of talent a team could possibly have at the high school level.
St. Thomas Aquinas has 12 ranked prospects of its own, the best of which might be 4-star OT Mark Matthews. Matthews (6-6, 270 lbs) is the No. 2 prospect so far in Florida’s Class of 2027, and he remains uncommitted for now. Two more 4-star juniors in safety Zayden Gamble and WR Julius Jones are also in the fold and uncommitted when it comes to their future college plans. Senior CB Justice Fitzpatrick (Georgia) is the only other 4-star talent on the team.
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Refresh for updates …
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HOW TO WATCH: No. 1 Mater Dei [CA] Monarchs vs. No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas [FL] Raiders
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|| FOURTH QUARTER ||
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Mater Dei held St. Thomas Aquinas on a 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line. But then they gave it right back to the Raiders inside their own 30-yard line on an interception.
If Mater Dei was to end up losing this after leading 26-3, it would rival American Heritage’s big comeback last night against St. Joseph’s Prep. The difference is, American Heritage willed themselves to victory. In this case, Mater Dei is doing as much as St. Thomas Aquinas is to keep this close.
|| THIRD QUARTER ||
A personal foul for a horse collar on Mater Dei. The Monarchs are keeping the Raiders in the game with penalties. 13 for 140 yards now, and St. Thomas Aquinas is suddenly in business at Mater Dei’s 25.
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Make no mistake about, St. Thomas Aquinas has been dominated. But they just forced a three-and-out, and there’s a little bit of a momentum swing now. A touchdown and 2-point conversion on this possession, and somehow, this is a one possession game.
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And St. Thomas Aquinas finally gets to the end zone with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter. That’s roughly around the time American Heritage started digging out of their big hole against St. Joseph’s Prep last night. Could we see another big comeback tonight?
Virgil Lemons does the honors from three yards out, and the PAT is good. Down 16, it’s technically a two-score game now, assuming St. Thomas Aquinas could convert a couple of 2-pointers after touchdowns.
3rd Qtr — MATER DEI 26, ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 10
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Some stats from the first half today. I talked about how this may come down more to who controls the trenches. Turnovers are even, but look at these lopsided yardage totals:
FIRST HALF STATS: Mater Dei 70 rush, 232 pass, 302 total. St. Thomas Aquinas 42 rush, 53 pass, 95 total. Both teams 2 turnovers. @MD_Athletics @MDFootball @STA_Football @SBLiveFL @SBLiveCA https://t.co/vr1RKavk3P
— Jeff Gardenour (@JMarkG1962) August 23, 2025
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We’re under way in the third quarter in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
|| SECOND QUARTER ||
Well, that’s a backbreaker. After last night’s incredible rally by American Heritage from 28 down to beat St. Joseph’s 31-28, you never say never. But after forcing St. Thomas Aquinas to punt with 30 seconds left in the first half, Mater Dei strikes from 62 yards out when Hopkins finds Gavin Honore who takes it the distance.
But definitely problems in the kicking game for Mater Dei. They line up for the PAT, another snap that’s off, and it ends up getting blocked. Amazing a program at this level is struggling with something so elemental while doing all the big things well
2nd Qtr — MATER DEI 26, ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 3
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Well, it just happened again for the second time in four plays. After the last interception. St. Thomas Aquinas sent out junior Cody Conness who promptly threw an interception to Mater Dei’s Ezekiel Su’a. Su’a returned it to the Raiders’ 24 where he fumbled it back to the Raiders.
The end result is on the two plays, St. Thomas Aquinas has maintained possession, but they are moving the wrong direction back toward their own end zone.
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A crazy play. Mater Dei’s CJ Lavender Jr. picks off a pass and returns it 42 yards. At the end of the play St. Thomas Aquinas punched it loose, and the Raiders recover. So, two turnovers on the same play, and we end up where we started with the Raiders having the ball.
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A completely bonkers catch by Henry Jr. on a pass right down the middle of the field. 81 yards, and Mater Dei starting to really get going.
They go for two again, and this time they convert. Not sure if that’s just to make up the difference they lost on the first two or if that’s an issue for this Mater Dei squad. If it is, that will be something to follow through the season in their big games.
2nd Qtr, 4:30 — MATER DEI 20, ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 3
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Mater Dei is back in St. Thomas Aquinas territory on a big gain by Lewis. Then Monarchs QB Ryan Hopkins finds Kayden Dixon-Wyatt for a nice pass-and-catch to Aquinas’ 22. On the very next play, Hopkins finds Chris Henry Jr. in the end zone who makes another great catch in tight coverage.
Mater Dei botches the snap on the PAT attempt, so maybe that explains why they went for two on the first one. They may know something we don’t know. Either way, that’s two freebies that aren’t on the board that could be, so if this thing is close late and Aquinas needing a field goal to win, that could be something to look back on.
If this is round 2, then Aquinas needs to answer on this next drive.
2nd Qtr, 9:43 — MATER DEI 12, ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 3
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This is a replay of a great catch by Chris Henry Jr. in the first quarter for Mater Dei. 50-50 ball, but he goes up and gets it.
No. 1 WR and Ohio State commit Chris Henry Jr. goes up upstairs to make the catch, putting No. 1 Mater Dei in scoring position. 🔥🤯@MDFootball I @ChrisHenryJr I @BrowardShowcase pic.twitter.com/03lcmBRYuB
— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) August 23, 2025
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I mentioned if one team is trading field goals for touchdowns that end up making a difference. And if this is a heavyweight bout, then round one goes to Mater Dei by getting the touchdown there.
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And Justin Lewis punches it from five yards out to put Mater Dei on the board. Strange decision afterward to go for two, and it isn’t even close.
2nd Qtr — MATER DEI 6, ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 3
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About to head to the second quarter in Fort Lauderdale. And I mentioned this feeling like a heavyweight bout, and that’s kind of how it feels. Two big teams, poking at each other, throwing a quick jab here and there, but mostly feeling each other out.
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|| FIRST QUARTER ||
And that’s your first quarter with St. Thomas Aquinas leading on their home field, but Mater Dei in the red zone.
End of 1st Qtr — ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 3, MATER DEI 0
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No doubt, St. Thomas Aquinas has to be happy with how this first quarter has unfolded. But another thing to keep an eye on is trips into the red zone. They barely cracked the 20 on that last drive, and they did get the field goal, but if one team is settling for field goals, and the other one is finishing drives, that could be a difference maker as well.
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And there’s your icebreaker. St. Thomas Aquinas drives inside Mater Dei’s 20, but has to settle for a 35-yard Johnny DiSalvatore field goal. But it’s true, and St. Thomas Aquinas is on the board.
1st Qtr, 3:40 — ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 3, MATER DEI 0
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And early on, St. Thomas Aquinas turning to their quarterback, senior Mason Mallory who’s got them on the move in Mater Dei territory.
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We’ve had an exchange of possessions, and both teams kind of feeling each other out early.
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St. Thomas Aquinas is three and out to start the game. But a great punt, and Mater Dei takes over on its own 22.
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And we’re under way!
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|| PREGAME ||
KEYS TO THE GAME …
We’ve got a link to our full preview of this game above. But I’d say some last minute things to think about today are the fact we’ve got two experience quarterbacks, but they’re both making their debuts today with their current programs. Football is a sport full of cliches, and we always talk about turnovers and mistakes, and surely, those could play a role today. The quarterback that wins that battle probably has the upper hand.
But that being said, both of these teams are elite. They are basically small college programs from a talent standpoint. So they can overcome the random mistake here and there. So, I think another thing to keep an eye on is whether or not one team is able to start dominating in the trenches. That can help sustain drives, and even with a mistake or two, a team that can move the ball up and down the field is going to have more opportunities.
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We’re hopeful that the weather has cleared out and we can get this thing kicked off at the adjusted start time of 4:30 p.m. We’ll check back in shortly with some keys to the game.
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TEAM INFO …
We’ve got a lot of player info, but just a reminder, this No. Mater Dei squad is the back-to-back national champions. Last year, all seven current major selectors picked the Monarchs as the national champions.
St. Thomas Aquinas, meanwhile, was Florida’s FHSAA Class 5A state champion. They also have a couple of national titles back in 2008 and 2010.
In short, these are two teams with championship pedigrees, and this feels like a high school heavyweight bout today. It’ll be played on St. Thomas Aquinas’s home field so they’ve got all the advantages there. Just the familiarity, and it should be a raucous crowd cheering them on.
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WEATHER AND MORE …
Checking in on Fort Lauderdale. We’ve started out today like we did yesterday with another weather delay in Florida. But we do have an estimated start time of 4:20 p.m. EST. Hang tight, and we’ll keep an eye on things.
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TOP 25 AND THE GAME OF THE WEEK …
While you’re getting ready for tonight’s big game, get yourself up to speed on the preseason edition of The Sporting News High School Football Top 25.
Then check out our TSN Game of the Week Recap featuring the No. 14 Milton (GA) Eagles at the No. 12 Buford (GA) Wolves on Thursday, August 14, 2025.
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OUR PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA TEAMS …
Finally, don’t miss out on The Sporting News Preseason All-American Teams.
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MORE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL HEADLINES …
