Mistake-riddled De La Salle comes up short to No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas of Florida

The Spartans began their season with a 24-14 loss in a nationally-televised game against USA Today’s No. 1 ranked high school team St. Thomas Aquinas of Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

De La Salle, playing before a full house at Owen Owens Field, scored early for a 7-0 lead as runningbacks Shamar Garrett and James Coby raced through the Raiders defense. St. Thomas came back with three first-half touchdowns for a 21-7 advantage.

The Concord team responded with a TD and then fumbled away a chance to tie the game before halftime.

In the second half both team’s defenses took over. A late STA field goal, following a bizarre call by the officials that gave the visitors great field position, accounted for the final 24-14 margin.

De La Salle and St. Thomas Aquinas both had numerous penalties with the Spartans continuously getting flagged for illegal substitutions with 12 men on the field in the huddle.

Junior quarterback Dorian Hale was harassed by the big, fast Raiders defense throughout the game and was never able to get a passing game going to complement his two runningbacks.

The Spartans travel to Modesto on Friday to meet Central Catholic looking for their first win of 2019.