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Gibbons Rallies From 20 Down In 2nd Half To Advance to State Semis

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Miami, FL — Up 27-7, the Gulliver (Miami) Raiders were 24 minutes away from the state semifinals and it seemed that 2021 would finally be the year the Raiders took the next step toward winning its first state championship since its only title in 2000.

Unfortunately for Gulliver, those dreams were dashed as the defending 4A state champions, Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale) battled back to advance to back-to-back semifinals with a 36-33 win in the FHSAA regional final.  

Quarterback Dylan Rizk scored three rushing touchdowns including the game-winner with 1:16 left to play in the game to seal it for the Chiefs.  The 2023 three-star quarterback took matters into his own hands and used his legs to score.   

“They actually defended it really well,” said Rizk.  “The tight end was supposed to leak to the flat and I just hit him and he goes in the end zone. But they had a free guy that was locked on the tight end.  So I faked the pass to him and just ran it in. It was the first time I ever did that with that play.”

Rizk was far from perfect in this game, turning the ball over four times (three interceptions, one fumble lost).  Despite the miscues, Rizk and the champs were able to make the plays necessary to advance.  

“He never lost his confidence,” said Head Coach Matt Dubuc.  “We made it easier than we should have, but we fought back.”

It Was Over When…

Gulliver was unable to convert on a 4th and 2 from their own 45-yard line with under a minute to go.  Quarterback Carson Haggard’s pass was too high for De’Carlo Donaldson and the Gibbons sideline erupted.  


The Gibbons defense held the explosive Gulliver offense to just six points in the second half and the Chiefs offensive comeback was ignited by a 73-yard touchdown run by Rizk.  The junior quarterback decided to tuck it and run to his left, busted through two tacklers along the way, and sprinted down the sideline for the touchdown.  


“I think they thought I was going to slide, but I just kept running,” said Rizk of the run.  “My receivers did a great job blocking, my O-Line did a great job walling them off to the right side.”

The score would make it a two-score game in the third quarter.  Rizk, the transfer from American Heritage (Delray) fumbled the football attempting to run on his next possession.  The Raiders would counter with a score on the next play as Notre Dame commit Sedrick Irvin Jr. busted loose for a 26-yard touchdown. 

But the Chiefs’ comeback would continue as Rizk found an open Davon Kiser for a 35-yard touchdown. 

The ground game would finally get going in the third quarter for the Chiefs as junior running back Kamari Moulton found daylight on the right side, slipped a tackle, and used his speed to get to the end zone.  


“Once I broke I was just thinking about my mom because she just passed recently,” said Moulton.  “I just wanted to score for my mom.”

Moulton explained that he told Rizk to change the play that was originally a pass, to a run.

“He wanted to pass it but before he hiked it I said stop it, just run the ball.  He said I’m trusting you and I said I got you.  Next thing you know we’re in the end zone.”

Gibbons went for two and converted with a pass to tight end Colton Heinrich. Gibbons all of a sudden found themselves down by just four in the third quarter. 

The fourth quarter would provide enthralling theatre.  First Tre’Mone Drisdom would intercept a Haggard pass close to the sideline which gave the Chiefs an early opportunity to take the lead in the final quarter.  Junior Antonio Smith would intercept a Rizk’s pass in the end zone to end the drive with 7:39 left and later Rizk would throw another interception to senior Jayvon Only.

“It was devastating,” said Rizk.  “Obviously that’s the last thing I want to do, especially the one in the end zone.  But that’s football, bad stuff will happen in football. But we came back and won the game.”   

Big Time Players

De’Carlo Donaldson (Wide Receiver, Gulliver), had an unbelievable first half. 


Donaldson scored three times making it look relatively easy each time.


Donaldson was tough to stop and tough to bring down, needing at least two tacklers to take down his big (6-2, 210) frame.


Adonis Allen (Defensive Back, Cardinal Gibbons), shut down big play wide receiver Jalen Brown who was unofficially shut out in this game without a catch.  Allen snatched a would-be catch away from Brown in the first half.  

Mason Thomas, Ahmad Moten, and Tray Brown – The combination of the three Gibbons defenders turned up the pressure on Haggard in the second half.  Collectively their disruption changed the complexion of the game and helped the Chiefs advance to the next round.  

Jesse Anderson probably had his best game as a Cardinal Gibbons Chief.  The junior caught passes over the middle when the pocket broke down and also contributed on defense.  

 

Cardinal Gibbons will host Lakewood (St. Petersburg) next week in the state semifinals next week. 

 

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Marcus Benjamin works as the senior writer and editor for FootballHotbed.com. He attended Florida A&M and Florida Memorial University completing a bachelors degree in communications in 2010. He's covered high school football in the South Florida area since 2010 for the Miami Herald, Miami Sports Tribune and ShawSports.net. He is married and lives in Fort, Lauderdale, FL.

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