The first week of the high school football playoffs in Florida saw one of the biggest upsets — if not the biggest upset — of the 2026 season.
That’s right. In a stunner on par with 2007 Appalachian State winning in Michigan, No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas lost in overtime to Lakeland Friday night.
You see these things in college football. You see it in the NFL. Very rarely do you see it in high school football.
It’s why I have lived and breathed for Friday Night lights all fall. For moments like this:
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St. Thomas Aquinas is a Florida machine
Amazing.
I’ve taken it upon myself here at OutKick to highlight at least one high school football play/ player/ story each and every weekend during the season. These guys are all about to be millionaires with the silly NIL rules, so we might as well get ahead of the curve and start identifying them early.
It’s been quite a ride. No matter how old you get, nothing beats high school football. In a world of NIL deals, it’s the last pure form of amateur athletics left.
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The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders defeated the Lakeland Dreadnaughts 34-0 in the FHSAA Class 5A Football Championship on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in Miami, Fla. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
So far this season, we’ve seen a wild Hail Mary in Florida, an entire California team get suspended because the mascot shot the bird to some fans, a giant running back in Kentucky smashing heads, the best running back in the nation out of Tennessee, and an 88-84 playoff game out of Illinois.
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This shocker from down here in Florida tops them all.
St. Thomas Aquinas is a national powerhouse, and has been for as long as I can remember. I grew up in Florida. I played high school football down here. I covered high school football down here for years.
The Lakeland Dreadnaughts take the field before the FHSAA Class 5A Football Championship on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in Miami, Fla. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
Throughout it all, St. Thomas Aquinas has been a machine. A dynasty. For example, before last night’s win, Lakeland had lost to STA in back-to-back state title games …
… by a combined score of 63-0.
Sixty-three to nothing!
Lakeland, by the way, is no slouch. The Dreadnaughts are a well-run program. Always have been. But they were no match for St. Thomas over the past two seasons.
Until last night. What a win. What a stunner.
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The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders celebrate their 34-0 victory over the Lakeland Dreadnaughts in the FHSAA Class 5A Football Championship on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in Miami, Fla. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
Despite the loss, St. Thomas Aquinas is still not done this season. The Florida High School Athletic Association introduced a new “Open Division” postseason format this year in which the top eight teams in the state are brought together to compete for the inaugural Open Division championship.
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Friday’s game was the first in the pool play round. STA will play again next week in the second of three weeks of “pool play” playoff football.
Personally, it seems a little goofy to me, but I’m admittedly a traditionalist when it comes to high school football. Oh well. It’s not a battle worth fighting at this point.
Anyway, here’s one more on the way out: Lakeland’s win on Friday ended the Raiders’ 35-game playoff win streak, which began in 2019. St. Thomas won seven state championships in that span.
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So, yeah — this was a big one in the world of high school football.
It’s why it’s the best world to be in.