La Salle football team remains unbeaten, earns respect after quality victory
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All season long, Immaculata-La Salle football has been looking for a little respect.
Despite a perfect 8-0 record, not too many folks, because of a schedule that perhaps didn’t really include any “quality” wins, were taking the Royal Lions very seriously.
It’s time to get serious.
Hosting a revitalized Mater Academy team, led by former Booker T. Washington coach Tim “Ice” Harris, La Salle nailed down that signature win it was looking for on Friday night and it came in dramatic fashion.
La Salle quarterback Nate Merrell Jr. led his team down the field on an 8-play, 72-yard drive before tossing a 4-yard touchdown pass to Adrian Cox with 40 seconds left to give La Salle a dramatic 21-18 victory over Mater Academy sending their huge home crowd into a frenzy.
Trailing by four points with just over four minutes left, Merrell Jr., after struggling to move his offense most of the night including four three-and-outs on four second half possessions, came through when it counted the most.
La Salle, which cracked the Miami Herald’s South Florida Top 20 poll this week, and has now won 20 of its last 22 games dating back to last season’s historic deep playoff run to the regional final, remained unbeaten at 9-0.
After a 7-0 start, the loss was the second straight for Mater Academy, which lost on the road in Lakeland to Lake Gibson last week.
“First and foremost we can now finally maybe get some respect with this kind of win,” Valle said. “Coach Harris runs an outstanding program and we knew coming in that this was going to be the kind of game that we were going to have to come out on top if we wanted that respect. I felt our kids were ready for this moment and we found a way to come out on top.”
After watching his team take advantage of four Mater turnovers in the first half to build a 14-0 lead (thanks to two short fields off two of those turnovers), Valle watched in frustration for the rest of the game as his team committed an eye-opening 22 penalties for nearly 200 yards. The Lions scored 18 consecutive points and appeared poised for the comeback win.
But Merrell Jr. didn’t flinch as he made four huge plays on the game-winning drive. First came an opening 21-yard pass to Tyronne Williams that got the Royal Lions to midfield.
Following a pass interference penalty on Mater which got La Salle to the 40, Merrell Jr. faced a third-and-12 at the Lion 42 when he slipped away from a would-be sack to take off for a 13-yard gain and fresh set of downs.
Two plays later (following the last of his team’s 22 penalties for holding), Merrell Jr. eluded Mater pass rushers again and found Wiliams open in the right flat. Williams took off down the right sideline for a 34-yard play to the Mater five. One play later, Merrell Jr. performed his final magic act. About to be brought down by a Mater pass rusher, he somehow slipped from his grasp and found Cox uncovered and wide open in the left flat for the game-winner.
“The play broke down so I had to try and get away out to the left and I spotted him (Cox) at the last second,” said Merrell Jr., who despite only being a sophomore already has offers from FIU and UCF. “We knew this was going to be a dog fight tonight. It was just a matter of keeping our poise and executing. The penalties were definitely frustrating but it was just about finding a way to overcome all of that and in the end, we found a way to do it. What did we prove tonight? That we’re dogs. That we don’t lay down when the fight gets too hard.”
Asked about his star quarterback, Valle couldn’t help but gush.
“Nate’s special,” Valle said. “He has that poise about him that when the game is on the line he wants the ball in his hands. He’s young so he has a few misplays now and then but he more than makes up for that. That kid can do it all. He’s elite.”
La Salle’s first touchdown came with 1:45 left in the first quarter when Merrell Jr. found Kamari Vasquez for a five yard score. It came four plays after Andrew Delgado fell on a Mater muffed punt at the Lions’ 16.
Merrell Jr. got another short field late in the second quarter after Phillip Jones Jr. fell on a loose ball at the Mater 31. Eight plays after that, Cox scored from three yards out to make it 14-0 just 49 seconds before halftime.
It was here that momentum in the game swung dramatically in the direction of Mater Academy. Quarterback Rahdel Jean-Baptiste found Ja’Kaurri Carter on a 41-yard pass play to the LaSalle 29. After an off sides penalty on LaSalle, Jean-Baptiste dropped back with just 11 seconds left, avoided two pass rushers and took off running. With time expired in the half, he dove into the end zone for a Lions touchdown to make it 14-6 at the break after the PAT failed.
Mater then dominated the remainder of the contest until Merrell Jr. started his game-winning drive.
Jean-Baptiste ran for a 9-yard score midway through the third quarter to make it 14-12 (the two-point try failed) before the Lions took an 18-14 lead when, on third-and-goal from the 26, he fired a perfect strike to Gerard Modest over the middle for a score with 55 seconds left in the third.
Both teams have already wrapped up district titles and are headed to the playoffs in their respective classes. Mater Academy is pretty much locked into the No. 3 seed in Region 4-5A but the win might’ve been big for La Salle.
The Royal Lions, whose only two losses in this 22-game stretch were to Harris’ Booker T. Washington team last year, were not very far behind Cardinal Gibbons for the No. 1 seed in Region 4-2A and could still overtake the Chiefs should they finish up a perfect 10-0 regular season next week when they play Krop next Friday at Ives Estates Park.
“What did we find out about ourselves tonight?” Valle said when asked the question. “We found out that we’re not scared of anybody. That we’re an elite program in Miami-Dade County and here to stay. We’re very humbled and have had a lot of ups and downs but tonight is a feather in our cap.”
This story was originally published October 25, 2025 at 6:56 AM.