FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, Oct. 31 — The game is under way, and the two Florida powers are tied at 7-all headed into halftime.
PREVIEW
The St. Thomas Aquinas [Fort Lauderdale, FL] Raiders have rolled off eight straight wins since losing their season opener, 26-23, at home to the preseason SN No. 1 Mater Dei [Santa Ana, CA] Monarchs back on August 23.
Mater Dei has since lost two games of its own, a fact that could hold the Raiders back as they continue to try and remain in the national title conversation with Florida’s FHSAA playoffs starting next weekend. They’ll get a major opportunity Friday night to embellish their championship resume against another Florida team trying to stay in the national title conversation.
The Chaminade-Madonna [Hollywood, FL] Lions have been on a similar path in 2025, losing their season opener, 42-13, to the current SN No. 4 St. Frances Academy [Baltimore, MD] Panthers. They’ve played one fewer game than St. Thomas Aquinas, but they’ve won all seven of their contests since that loss to work their way back into the national Top 10 and the fringe of the national title conversation.
A national championship for either these teams remains a remote possibility, and it would require a lot of teams losing down the stretch to turn that into a reality. But the winner of this game will be adding a major bullet point to their resume if there’s chaos at the top of the rankings in the final two months of the national high school football season.
WATCH: SN No. 10 Chaminade-Madonna [FL] at SN No. 8 St. Thomas Aquinas [FL]
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|| SECOND QUARTER ||
It’s been a defensive struggle, and we head to the half still tied.
HALFTIME — Chaminade-Madonna 7, St. Thomas Aquinas 7
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And we’re all even in Florida again as St. Thomas Aquinas drives the field to tie things up with 5:46 to play in the second quarter.
2ND QTR — Chaminade-Madonna 7, St. Thomas Aquinas 7
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And Chaminade-Madonna’s freshman QB Malik Leonard gets the scoring started with 13-yard touchdown run to open the second quarter.
2ND QTR — Chaminade-Madonna 7, St. Thomas Aquinas 0
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|| FIRST QUARTER ||
And we end the first quarter where we started – scoreless in Fort Lauderdale.
END OF 1ST QTR — Chaminade-Madonna 0, St. Thomas Aquinas 0
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So far both teams have been trading punts since that early missed field goal. We’re still scoreless in the first quarter.
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Aquinas comes up with a stop on third-and-goal to force a Chaminade field goal. It sails wide right, and the Raiders get their first crack at the Lions’ defense with the game still scoreless.
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And they’re under way in Fort Lauderdale!
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Coming soon!
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OUR PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA TEAMS …
Finally, don’t miss out on The Sporting News Preseason All-American Teams that just debuted today!
The Sporting News High School Preseason All-American Offense 2025
The Sporting News High School Preseason All-American Defense 2025
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MORE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL HEADLINES
