The NFL Academy came within a heartbeat of a statement victory on Wednesday night, falling just short in a 41–38 shootout against American high school powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders under the lights of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
This was the third annual matchup between an elite U.S. high school and the NFL Academy. They were put to the sword in last year’s game by De La Salle high school, suffering a 31-9 loss and were looking for a better showing this year.
For the Academy, still less than a decade into its mission to develop elite international football talent, this wasn’t just another fixture. It was a measuring stick.
St Thomas Aquinas have won 6 straight state championships in Florida and have sent players such as Nick & Joey Bosa, Nik Bonitto, Asante Samuel Jr, Elijah Moore, Dallas Turner and many more to the NFL via college.
Whilst this was hardly David against Goliath, most assumed that the NFL Academy would be overmatched and a similar multi-score loss they had suffered last year was upcoming.
After a back and forth first half, St Thomas Aquinas went into the locker rooms with the lead. Although it wasn’t until the final Raiders drive of the first half that the Floridian’s took real control of the game. They executed efficiently and a touchdown pass to WR Julius Jones, who has more D1 offers than you can shake a stick at, gave them a 21–10 halftime lead in what had been a very close contest before then.
When Aquinas converted on a third down in the red zone to open the second half, pushing their lead to 28–10, it could have been the moment that broke most teams. Instead, it seemingly sparked the Academy into life.
A bruising quarterback run by Academy prospect Viktor Lachambre reignited belief, and moments later, Tottenham erupted as an Jayden Smith intercepted a pass from Raiders quarterback Mason Mallory and took it all the way! a pick six that cut the gap to just five. It felt like a turning point..
But St. Thomas Aquinas showed why they’re perennial champions. After a huge hit by Raiders cornerback Jaden Carey caused the ball to pop into the air, defensive lineman Chase Goodrich caught it and rumbled in for a touchdown to restore the cushion, and by the time the fourth quarter began, the scoreboard read 41–23 to the Americans.
Game over? Not quite. The Academy refused to fade. Two late touchdowns, the first by WR Luca Wolf for his second of the day, and TE Vili Haapasalo brought the crowd to its feet and cut the deficit to three.
But the Academy had used up too much time and might’ve wished they hadn’t used two of their three time-outs in the third quarter. As the clock ran out on the Academy’s chances of getting something from the game on the scoreboard, there was pride in a performance and a game fitting of its surroundings.
Former Aquinas and current Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto watched his old team from the stands, joined by NFL players past and present such as Maurice Jones-Drew, Efe Obada, Jason Bell, and Charles “Peanut” Tillman who has been working with the NFL Academy in a coaching capacity.
On the sidelines, NFL UK’s own Neil Reynolds, the voice of Sunday nights for British fans, cheered on the Academy and his son, George, who is part of the coaching staff for the Academy.
The NFL Academy stood toe-to-toe with a high school football juggernaut and came within a field goal of a tie. There’s real talent playing the sport on our shores and it’s only going to get bigger and better.