The St. Thomas Aquinas football team received a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play against the NFL Academy in London, England. Following their blowout win the previous week, the Raiders took a nine-hour flight on October 4, 2025. Even though the Raiders had a football game to play, what’s a trip to the capital of England without some extraordinary sightseeing?

Each day, the Raiders had an early morning practice followed by team activities throughout the city. On the first day, the Raiders watched the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings NFL game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Following the game, they visited St. Paul’s Cathedral and attended Mass. The next day, the Raiders had multiple excursions planned, walking roughly ten miles around the British city. On the third day, the Raiders held a community service camp, teaching kids from an international school about American football. On day four came what they had been waiting for, it was game day.

The Raiders and the NFL Academy had an intense shootout, with the NFL Academy scoring first. After that, the Raiders bounced back with a quick touchdown from Julius Jones. Before halftime, Mason Mallory found Julius Jones for his second touchdown of the game. After the half, the Raiders got the ball back and found the end zone again. St. Thomas Aquinas built a large lead, but the NFL Academy responded and scored multiple times to make the score 41–30. Toward the end of the game, the NFL Academy had their backs against the wall, and on third and goal they converted and got the two-point conversion. The Raiders took a knee to close out the game, and both teams showed great sportsmanship. After the game, the Raiders and NFL Academy met up and took a picture with one of the owners of Nike. Both teams came together and showed great respect for each other.

Players on the team shared about their experience throughout the week. Jordan Roache, who roomed with William Billings, said his favorite part of the trip was learning about history and seeing the Royal Kingdom. One thing he wasn’t a fan of was the food throughout the trip, and he was also surprised by the NFL Academy team’s performance.

Dylan Steen, who roomed with Jayden Dean, was also not a fan of the food, saying it was his least favorite thing about the trip. His favorite part was the frequent bus rides and bonding with his teammates. Isaiah Calixte, who also roomed with William Billings, revealed that his favorite part of the trip was seeing the large cities in London, though he also wasn’t a huge fan of the food. Calixte was very surprised by how well the NFL Academy performed. Coach Joe Nelson, whose favorite part of the trip was the overall experience and the weather in London, felt that the food was really good after the first day of the trip. Coach Joe shared his feelings about playing against the NFL Academy, “It was a great experience… to go against the NFL Academy and NFL coaches.”