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Davie, FL — No other current program in South Florida has played in five consecutive state championship games like the Lions of Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood). “The Nade Boys” are the epitome of consistency and have a standard that is set year after year. In 2021, Chaminade has one of the toughest schedules in South Florida, and the goal is to get to another 3A state championship game.
“You don’t get to those games by playing cake schedules,” said Chaminade Head Coach Dameon Jones. “We gotta take one game at a time.”
So far for Coach Jones, the season is going according to schedule for the Chaminade-Madonna football team. The Lions defeated the Western (Davie) Wildcats 30-13 Friday night to move officially to 1-0 on the year. The big win came off the heels of a 16-0 preseason shutout of one of the best Dillard (Fort Lauderdale) teams in years.
It Was Over When…
Western quarterback Collin Hurst was sacked for the 8th time, this time in his own end zone. The safety made it a three-score game and potentially put the game out of reach. Hurst, considered one of the best quarterbacks in South Florida, was under constant pressure by senior defensive linemen Kenyatta Jackson and UCF commit Jamaal Johnson. Both had two sacks apiece on the night.
Coach Jones was asked if the Jackson and Johnson duo is the best in the country.
“I believe that. They got a bunch of guys ranked in front of them because of measurables. But measurables don’t make plays on the field, these guys make plays on the field.”
Jackson (6-5, 231) and Johnson (6-2, 250) weren’t the only ones on defense making big plays Friday night. Junior linebacker Jeno Julius had two sacks and sophomore Zaquan Patterson had a sack and a blocked punt in the first half. Chaminade finished the game with ten sacks.
Western came out ready to play, however, as they marched down the field on their opening drive. Hurst found senior Julian Lewis for a big gain to set up fellow senior Tyriek Thorpe on a five-yard jet sweep. After the blocked punt sophomore running back, Davion “Bullet” Gause muscled his way over the goal line to help tie the game at seven in the second quarter.
Davion “Bullet” Gause @daviongause7 of the @Nadeboyz drives over the goal line to help tie game at 7 with Western with 11:45 left in the first half. @FootballHotbed pic.twitter.com/VnB194rTuL
— Marcus Benjamin (@_BenjaminReport) August 27, 2021
Gause followed that score with an impressive touchdown run stiff-arming a defender and maintaining his balance to score his second touchdown of the game.
Bullet goes in for his second touchdown of the game. Watch @daviongause7 with the #stiffarm on his way to the end zone. @Nadeboyz up 14-7 on Western with 7:39 left in the half. @FootballHotbed pic.twitter.com/4UMxYARQ9a
— Marcus Benjamin (@_BenjaminReport) August 27, 2021
Bullet also played from the wildcat formation much like former Chaminade running back Thad Franklin.
“This year I’ll be playing a lot of roles in the offense. I saw the hole and I hit it. I saw him on my inside hip,” said Gause about the would-be tackler on his touchdown run. “Hitting him with the stiff arm is how I was feeling at the moment.”
The Lions also used the aerial attack to get into the end zone. Sophomore quarterback Cedric Bailey (6-5, 190) hit Edwin Joseph in the flat who then threw to Duane Thomas for an easy touchdown.
A little trickeration extends the @Nadeboyz lead. Cedric Bailey to Edwin Joseph to a wide open Duane Thomas. Score 21-7 over Western with 5:04 left in the half. @FootballHotbed pic.twitter.com/qHQ7wOW52A
— Marcus Benjamin (@_BenjaminReport) August 28, 2021
Bailey threw his first touchdown pass to Maurice Marcellus early in the second half. The score made it 28 unanswered points for the Lions. Western an 8A state title contender was outmatched by the smaller 3A school and now looks to continue their winning ways for the rest of the season.
“We don’t look it as a an 8A or a 7A school,” said Coach Jones. “We just play whoever wants to play us and guess what, we’re going to get better from the experience.”
Chaminade will play at American Heritage (Plantation) next week while Western will host Hallandale next week.
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