LAS VEGAS >> There were tears and hugs on a chilly night here in the desert. The members of the Saint Louis School football team were on the turf at Fertitta Field, some meeting their friends and family on a high school football field for the final time on Saturday night.
The Crusaders had just fallen to St. Thomas Aquinas-Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) 35-19 in the GEICO Bowl Series, an event created to allow state champions to face off against each other. Both teams came into the game undefeated and ranked in the top five in the country in the MaxPreps poll.
“It was a great experience,” Saint Louis receiver Koali Nishigaya said. “Just to go out for one more game with my brothers. It’s a blessing and I’m thankful that we got to come up here and experience something new.”
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“It was an unbelievable experience,” linebacker Nicholas Herbig said. “It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for kids in high school. Because a lot of us on the team had never been outside Hawaii before. That alone was a great experience.
“But to play in a game like this against a great team like Aquinas was unbelievable. I’m glad I got to play in this because it kind of is a steppingstone to college. That’s who I’m going to be going against in college. I’m very grateful to be able to play in this game.”
And though neither team played a perfect game — they combined for 20 penalties — it was close most of the way until the Raiders were able to get some distance in the second half.
Considering the way it started out for Saint Louis, that alone was impressive. The Crusaders got the ball first, and on the first play from scrimmage, quarterback Jayden deLaura fumbled on a run and the Raiders’ Blaine Anderson fell on the ball on the Saint Louis 20. On the very next play, Zion Turner found Antonio Johnson in the end zone for the touchdown. Just like that, it was 7-0.
But the Crusaders showed they belonged midway through the first quarter. A three-play, 54-yard drive, all passes from deLaura. The final 17 yards came on a throw to Roman Wilson.
A missed extra point was another harbinger — Saint Louis (12-1) seemed to be just a little off at various times during the game.
The Crusaders took a 13-7 lead later in the period on an 8-yard pass from deLaura to Nishigaya.
DeLaura finished 28-for-48 passing for 276 yards and the two touchdowns. However, he also threw three interceptions and injured his left (non-throwing) shoulder on a play in the third quarter.
“I’m fine,” deLaura said after the game. “The shoulder popped out a little bit.”
On that play, St. Thomas Aquinas linebacker/defensive end Derek Wingo was pressuring deLaura as the latter released the ball. Wingo clearly pulled up and even put his hands out to absorb the contact. It was not the worst hit you’ve seen a quarterback take. But deLaura landed on his left side and stayed down, clearly in pain.
Wingo was an issue for the Crusaders all night. The 6-foot-2 senior had two sacks amongst his four solo and two shared tackles. He also completed a huge pass on a fake punt that led directly to the Raiders’ final touchdown, giving them breathing room late in the third quarter.
“That’s been something that we’ve been working on all year long,” Wingo said. “We haven’t run it once. I thought that was the perfect opportunity for us to take advantage of that. They were doing good, they were bringing pressure all game. Why not give it a shot, put the game away? We were able to execute and get the job done.”
Wingo is the middle of three up backs in front of punter Noah Botsford, who pretended the snap went over his head. Instead, Wingo threw a slick pass to The’Andris Freeman for 23 yards and the first down. A penalty on the next play was followed by an 11-yard touchdown run by Devon Betty.
Saint Louis’s running game struggled much of the night, with deLaura leading the team with 28 yards. Nishigaya finished with 11 catches for 84 yards. Isaac Silva had 10 catches for 83 yards.
Anthony Hankerson ran for 106 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries for St. Thomas Aquinas (15-0). Turner was 8-for-14 for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
