Pride Comes Before The Fall: Aquinas Humbles DeSoto After Pregame Disrespect

Photo via Backyard Athletics USA

Last night, St. Thomas Aquinas took on DeSoto High School in a classic of powerhouse football between Texas and Florida. This game featured three Notre Dame Commits (Julius Jones Jr., Zayden Gamble, and Andre Jones) all on the Aquinas side of the ball. But that’s not even the biggest part of this story.

DeSoto football players did something you should never do, and that’s disrespect your opponent before the game even begins. Sportsmanship is the key to any competition and should always be respected for the love of the game. DeSoto was a heavy favorite coming into this game as the number one team in the nation, coming off of a Texas state 6A Division II championship last season, so they were definitely overconfident and didn't take Aquinas seriously. Aquinas didn't take the disrespect lightly and came out with their hair on fire, scoring 38 points in the first half.

All three Notre Dame commits for Aquinas had big plays in this game. 2027 WR Julius Jones Jr. had a touchdown reception on a quick slant that was virtually undefendable, and his younger brother, 2028 S Andre Jones, had a forced fumble that resulted in a turnover on downs when his teammate jumped on the ball. 2027 S Zayden Gamble made an incredible fumble recovery on a DeSoto punt return fumble that resulted in Gamble returning it for a touchdown.

With the game fully in hand at halftime, with Aquinas up 38-0, they were able to coast in the second half, going to a run-the-clock-out type of game plan, which resulted in a final score of 38-14. Make no mistake about it: the score doesn't reflect the true picture of what this game was, and that was a blowout with DeSoto never being a threat to win.

Safety Zayden Gamble put it best after the game was over when he said, "They did some disrespectful stuff, and I can't tolerate it. We gave them that heavenly belt." As the old saying goes, "Pride comes before the fall," and that couldn't be any truer in this case.

What hasn't been mentioned yet is: where are the adults in this situation? These are high schoolers, and this kind of disrespect comes from the leadership at DeSoto, the coaching staff. Hopefully a lesson in humility was learned here, and they can grow from this, resulting in better sportsmanship going forward.

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