Chaminade-Madonna returns for its 8th straight football state final
HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA – What Chaminade-Madonna makes look so routine is now historical.
To the surprise of no one, the Lions roared to a 47-7 blowout of Miami Archbishop Carroll on Friday night at Vince Zappone Field.
The outcome was never in doubt.
Five-star receivers Jeremiah Smith and Joshisa Trader each scored two touchdowns. Quarterback Cedrick Bailey did his thing, throwing for four scores before sitting out most of the second half due to the running clock rule, which is activated after a lead reaches at least 35 points.
Why Friday night was notable is the fact Chaminade-Madonna is now heading to the state championship game for a Florida state record eighth consecutive season.
The Lions (13-0) will seek a three-peat in Class 1M next week in Tallahassee against Clearwater Central Catholic, which beat Jacksonville Trinity Christian Academy, 39-32.
This will be a rematch of last year’s title game, when Chaminade cruised to a 48-14 victory.
“I think it will hit me later on,” Lions coach Dameon Jones said. “Right now, I’m happy for my kids.”
Undefeated in yet another dominating season, Chaminade-Madonna is making a claim for not just being a state champion, the Lions are in the conversation to be a national champion.
But through all the hype, and high expectations, the Lions always seem to take care of business.
“It doesn’t faze them,” Jones said. “It came from the group before them, and the group before them. It’s kind of the culture right now. We put them in different situations and make sure they handle situations like this. The spotlight, they love it. They love to perform under the spotlight, no matter the situation. It’s a special group. I’m having fun.”
With a roster loaded with four and five-star talent, the Chaminade players are constantly asked about the latest in their recruitment.
It was no different on Friday night,
Smith, who committed to Ohio State last year, is regarded as not just the top receiver in the county, but perhaps the top overall player.
Ohio State offensive coordinator/receivers coach Brian Hartline was in attendance on Friday night.
Ohio State commit Jeremiah Smith caught two touchdown passes in Chaminade-Madonna's 47-7 rout of Archbishop Carroll in the Class 1M state semifinals on Friday.
Photo by Joe Frisaro
Still, the University of Miami has maintained contact with Smith, and recently, the Hurricanes made an offer to Bailey, who has been committed to North Carolina State.
Trader has already committed to Miami.
Could the decisions of Bailey and Smith change, say Bailey flips to Miami. If that occurs, Trader and Smith would both be staying home. Would Smith follow?
“It would definitely make it tempting,” Smith said. “Those are my guys.”
For now, that’s just speculation.
Like Smith, Bailey is dealing with multiple college teams showing interest.
“I think it’s great,” Bailey said of the attention. “The Miami offer was great. So much has been focused on college. But I’m just gonna focus on next week -- the state game, right now. But when the state game is over, that’s when I’m going to focus on college.”
Quarterback Cedric Bailey, who is committed to North Carolina State, recently received an offer from Miami. Could he flip? He threw for four touchdowns Friday night in Chaminade-Madonna's state semifinal win.
Photo by Joe Frisaro
If the recruiting noise is bothering the Lions in any way, it certainly isn’t showing on the field.
The Lions started off quickly, using some trickery on the first play, with Smith, on a flea-flicker play, throwing a 63-yard completion to Trader.
Three plays later, Bailey hooked up with Trader for a 10-yard score.
Chaminade linebacker Bryant Julius recovered a fumble on the Bulldogs’ 31. On the next play, Davion Gause (North Carolina commit) broke loose for a TD, making it 12-0.
After stopping Archbishop Carroll on fourth down at the Bulldogs’ 27, Bailey hooked up with Smith for a 15-yard TD, and the Lions were up 19-0 with 4:50 remaining in the first quarter.
Chaminade’s unrelenting offense is arguably the best in the nation.
What makes it special?
“The brotherhood we’ve got here,” Smith said. “We all love each other. We all play for each other. We want to be part of a national title, too.”
It was more of the same in the second quarter, with Bailey finding Trader again for a 20-yard touchdown pass play. Denairius Gray got into the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown reception. Smith scored on a 2-point conversion play, and the Lions were ahead, 34-0 at halftime.
In the first half, Trader had three catches for 93 yards and two TDs. Gause had 73 yards rushing on two carries alone, with a score.
The Bulldogs (11-2) came into the game averaging 39 points per game, aren’t built to come back. They run an old-school Wing T offense, where they run on just about every play.
In the first half, Archbishop Carroll gained some yardage on the ground. They actually had 101 yards rushing on 24 carries, with quarterback Ryan Castro rushing for 68 yards.
But the Bulldogs didn’t complete a pass, attempting just two.
In the second half, after Smith’s 55-yard score started the running clock.
Archbishop Carroll eventually scored in the fourth quarter on Castro’s 1-yard run.
But the swiftly played game ended in another convincing Chaminade win.
“We were focused on starting off fast,” Bailey said. “We were so laser focused on the game that it was so fun. It was easy.”
