Florida’s high school football playoffs opened with a stunning result: top-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas fell to Lakeland in overtime on Friday night.
Upsets of that scale are familiar in college and pro football, but they’re much less common at the high school level. That’s part of what makes Friday nights so compelling. There’s usually a surprise somewhere in the season, but this one was hard to top.
St. Thomas Aquinas has long been one of Florida’s strongest programs. Lakeland is a respected team in its own right, but it had struggled against STA recently, losing to the Raiders in the previous two state championship games by a combined 63-0.
This time, Lakeland came out on top. It was a major win for the Dreadnaughts—and a remarkable end to St. Thomas Aquinas’ 35-game playoff winning streak, which began in 2019. The Raiders won seven state championships during that run.
The loss does not end STA’s season. Florida’s high school athletic association has introduced an Open Division postseason format, bringing the state’s top eight teams together to compete for a new championship. Friday’s game was the first in the pool-play round, and St. Thomas Aquinas is scheduled to play again next week.
The format may take some getting used to, especially for fans who prefer the traditional playoff structure. Still, there’s no question Friday’s result was a landmark moment in Florida high school football.
