Davie, FL — Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale) is one step closer to completing an unprecedented feat. Winning a second straight championship is, of course, impressive, but winning two state championships in two different classes is rare territory. The Chiefs defeated Nova Southeastern University School in Davie Friday night on Nova High School’s soggy wet home field 35-17. Junior quarterback Brody Palhegyi has full control of the ‘Air Raid’ offense and accounted for three touchdowns on the night.
“Last year we were at home for every single playoff game on the road to states,” said Palhegyi. “Neutral environment, great football team, sloppy weather, turnovers in the first half, but we got it together going into the second half and that’s what helped us.”
The game was moved from AutoNation Field, (the normal home field for the U-School Sharks) assumedly because of the lack of bleacher space for opposing fans. The teams experienced wet and rainy conditions for most of the evening, but neither team was slow to score in the first quarter. The Sharks jumped out to a 10-0 lead with the help of junior Emile Aime intercepting a Palhegyi pass and returning it 60 yards for a touchdown.
After the score, Gibbons countered with a scoring drive that ended with a short touchdown run by senior Coleman Bennett. Later in the half, Palhegyi would turn the ball over as he was blindsided by a huge hit by RJ Sorensen and the Sharks would recover. The Gibbons quarterback would bounce back after the turnover and find three-star (soon to be four-star) Troy Stellato for the touchdown.
Stellato, slipping on the wet turf, was still able to maintain his concentration to haul in the football with 26 seconds left in the half. Chiefs would take a 14-10 lead into halftime.
What a catch by @troystellato! @GibbonsFootball take the lead 14-10 on this touchdown with 26 seconds left in the half. @FootballHotbed pic.twitter.com/92TZrJjLnf
— Marcus Benjamin (@_BenjaminReport) November 16, 2019
“Like my dad used to say, he was up and down like a toilet seat,” said Head Coach Matt Dubuc of his quarterback. “The kid’s a scrapper, plays hard gets after it. When you do that and you are one of those guys you make some mistakes. For the most part, he is what he is man, he’s just a frickin winner and when you have winners you win games. He never bat’s an eyelash so we’re happy with him.”
Gibbons recovered a pooch kick to start the second half and capitalized on the possession. Palhegyi targeted his 6’3” receiver Jackson Marseille down the sideline and the senior jumped over his defender making a Moss-like reception for the 33-yard touchdown. Palhegyi would complete 12 of 19 passes for 187 yards helping to score on two passing touchdowns.
The Chiefs extend their lead 21-10 over University School. @Newera_Jack of @GibbonsFootball catches this one from @Brody_Palhegyi for the 37-yard touchdown in the 3rd quarter. @FootballHotbed pic.twitter.com/z54ubLePT7
— Marcus Benjamin (@_BenjaminReport) November 16, 2019
Brody would follow that possession with a touchdown of his own on the ground. In typical Palhegyi fashion, the 2021 QB scrambled around, got to the sideline, eluded defenders, and broke a tackle for an impressive 26-yard touchdown run. The touchdown made it 28 unanswered points scored by the 2018 5A state champs.
Chiefs are rolling as @Brody_Palhegyi takes the corner and breaks a tackle to put @GibbonsFootball up 28-10 in the 3rd quarter. @FootballHotbed pic.twitter.com/ftO12tKPxD
— Marcus Benjamin (@_BenjaminReport) November 16, 2019
“[I saw] a lot of open spaces,” said Palhegyi. “There DBs [were] dropping back giving me lanes to run. When I see that I just take off.”
The Gibbons defense was particularly impressive shutting down the high-powered offense of U-School. The Sharks did manage a touchdown in the second half as junior quarterback Nick Vattiato found Deion Small on an inside slant that Small would take the distance for a 69-yard score. It was the only offensive touchdown the Sharks would score. Gibbons held U-school to 154 total yards.
“We got after a good offense with a good quarterback with good receivers,” said Coach Dubuc. “Our guys rose to the challenge, our defensive staff did a great job.“
The Chiefs would add another score late as senior running back and UAB commit Tajae Davis busted loose for a 27-yard touchdown run. The three-headed monster of Bennett, Davis and Samir English-Brown keeps opposing defenses off-balance.
Senior running back @beastmodetaj busts through for a 27-yard touchdown run to extend the @GibbonsFootball lead 35-17 over U School with under 10 minutes to go in the game. @FootballHotbed pic.twitter.com/peySJmppRD
— Marcus Benjamin (@_BenjaminReport) November 16, 2019
Cardinal Gibbons (10-2) has been ranked in the Football Hotbed top ten for most of the season but somehow began these playoffs as a six seed. After two dominating wins, the Chiefs will host Miami Booker T. Washington (10-2) next week in what should be an exciting regional final. The winner of that matchup advances to the final four for the 4A state championship.
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