Ranked Texas Powerhouse Snubbed a Handshake and Florida’s St Thomas Aquinas Made Them Pay

Gorodenkoff image via Shutterstock
Gorodenkoff image via Shutterstock

Texas’ DeSoto Eagles' captains walked past the Saint Thomas Aquinas line and refused every handshake before kickoff.

The snub aired live on national television for every recruiter and rival to see.

Saint Thomas Aquinas made the number one ranked Eagles pay for it before halftime.

DeSoto Captains Snubbed St Thomas Aquinas at Midfield

DeSoto rolled into Fort Lauderdale ranked number one in Class 5A Division I, the defending 6A Division II state champions.

Instead of shaking hands with St Thomas Aquinas at the coin toss, DeSoto's captains walked straight past the Raiders' outstretched arms.

Cameras caught every second of it, and the clip went viral within hours.

DeSoto Football later admitted the obvious in a public statement, calling the snub "an opportunity for our young men to learn and grow from their mistakes."

The program took "full responsibility for the conduct of our players" and apologized directly to St Thomas Aquinas.

One DeSoto captain broke ranks and shook hands anyway.

Head coach Claude Mathis singled out SaRod Baker afterward for "holding his teammates accountable."

St Thomas Aquinas Answered With a Scoreboard Beatdown

St Thomas Aquinas didn't bother with words.

They just started scoring.

Tyler Reid broke off a 57 yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Jaden Carey picked off a DeSoto pass and took it to the house.

Zayden Gamble returned a punt 65 yards for another score.

By halftime, the Raiders led 38 to nothing.

DeSoto finally got on the board late through SaRod Baker, Patrick Harris Jr and Kendrick McCoy, but the final read 38 to 14.

A team too proud to shake hands got humbled on a national broadcast instead.

Adults Piled On Harder Than the Raiders Did

The backlash online got uglier than anything that happened on the field.

Coach Mathis had to defend his own players from grown adults slinging racist attacks at teenagers.

"They don't deserve to be called racists," Mathis said. "The real racism comes out when you look at the comments. These are kids."

St Thomas Aquinas athletic director Twan Russell tried to calm the mob from the winning side.

"Kids make mistakes, and they're being very hard on a really good team," Russell said.

Russell added that grown men should be careful judging teenagers, since "if we look in the mirror long enough, you're going to know you're going to make a mistake as well."

Both coaches confirmed there's no bad blood left between the programs.

The kids handled the aftermath with more class than half the internet did.

Every coach who has ever run a program knows the handshake line isn't optional, it's the first test of character before a single snap is played.

The National Federation of State High School Associations has spent years reminding coaches that sportsmanship has to be taught deliberately, because kids don't absorb it by accident.

DeSoto's captains skipped that test in front of a national audience, and St Thomas Aquinas graded the exam in the only language teenage boys respect, on the scoreboard.

SaRod Baker is the one name from that Texas roster worth remembering, because while his teammates postured for the cameras, he walked over and did the right thing anyway.

Picture that handshake line for a second.

A whole roster jogged past a row of outstretched hands, cameras rolling, while one junior broke off alone to shake every single one anyway, knowing exactly what his own locker room would say about it by Monday.

That's the whole story in one snapshot, a kid who ignored peer pressure got singled out by his coach while the rest of the roster ate a beatdown they brought on themselves.

Respect costs nothing and skipping it just cost DeSoto a shot at looking like the number one team in Texas.

Sources:

  • Western Journal, "High School Football Hotshots Snub Opponents in Pre-Game Handshake, Get Taught a Lesson on the Field," Western Journal, September 3, 2026.
  • CBS News Miami, "South Florida High School Coach Urges Grace for Texas Players After Handshake Incident," CBS News, September 2026.
  • BroBible, "DeSoto Football Players Face Vulgar Attacks As Coach Responds," BroBible, September 2026.
  • BroBible, "Texas High School Football Team Humbled After Handshake Snub," BroBible, September 2026.
  • CBS News Texas, "North Texas High School Football Team Apologizes to Florida Team," CBS News, September 1, 2026.
  • NFHS, "Coaches Must Take the Time to Teach Sportsmanship," National Federation of State High School Associations.

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