Gulliver Prep’s first-half touchdown blitz takes down Champagnat Catholic

All season long, nobody was sure just how “puffed up” Gulliver Preps undefeated record was.

A convincing road win over previously undefeated Calvary Christian last week was a first step. But if the Raiders ever wanted to send a message to the rest of a loaded Region 4-4A field, the now-coined “region of death,” they did that in an emphatic way on Friday afternoon.

Hosting Champagnat Catholic, the state’s No. 1 ranked Class 2A team, defending state runner-up and favorite to make it back to the state title game before a packed standing-room-only homecoming crowd, the Raiders took down the Lions in convincing fashion 35-21.

If ever there was an attention-getter to the likes of University School, Cardinal Gibbons, Booker T. Washington and Carol City, this was it.

Convincing because the Raiders, thanks to a four-touchdown blitz in an eight-minute span in the first half, built a 35-7 halftime lead before going conservative in the second half. Champagnat scored a pair of window dressing touchdowns in the last six minutes to make the score look closer than the game actually was.

With both teams currently seeded No. 1 in each of their respective regions, the game didn’t have a great deal of impact other than Gulliver, now 9-0, probably locked up the top seed as the Raiders already high RPI number will only go up.

“I wasn’t real thrilled with the second half, but overall I’m proud of the kids,” Gulliver coach Earl Sims said. “They came out prepared and ready to go and really took the whip to them in the first half and just glad we got the win.”

Sims watched as his Raiders team thoroughly dismantled the stunned Lions by scoring those four touchdowns in a span of 8:12, from the 3:36 mark of the first quarter to 7:24 of the second on a series of big plays.

Even when Champagnat briefly stemmed the momentum by scoring on a Calvin Montgomery touchdown 1:53 before halftime, that momentum disappeared when quarterback Carson Haggard dropped back and found Amin Hassan for a 54-yard score 22 seconds before halftime to build the lead back up to 35-7 at the break.

“I guess we let everyone know we’re here today and not a bunch of bozos,” said Raiders running back Anton Hall, who finished with 140 yards on 20 carries, a lot of that in the second half when the Raiders worked on grinding out the clock. “We’re here to play and have winning state in our sights. We know we’ve got each other’s backs and are looking forward to a big challenge ahead. We’re not stopping.”

The four-touchdown blitz began when Gabriel Taylor, younger brother of the late Sean Taylor, took off on a 48-yard touchdown run, his only carry of the game. When the Raiders had to punt on their next possession, Malik Rutherford couldn’t handle the catch. The ball caromed off his hip and started rolling 20 yards toward the end zone, barely avoiding going out of bounds. J.P. Cortez fell on the loose ball and it was 14-0.

After a short Champagnat punt into the wind set the Raiders up at the Lions’ 34, Moss took the first snap around the right side for a score. Two plays later, Lions quarterback Ryle Aguila dropped back and tossed an ill-advised ball to the right side. Gulliver CB Travious Lathon picked it off and sprinted 37 yards for the score.

“It was a team win and definitely a statement game for us today,” said defensive end Donell Harris Jr., who had four sacks giving him 25 for the season and confirmed that he has visits scheduled for Texas A&M (Nov. 2) and LSU while also acknowledging that the University of Miami was still in the picture. “We came out here to not just win but dominate and that’s what we did.”

Champagnat (6-3) concluded its regular season and, even with the loss, it will garner more points for playing a quality team like Gulliver and is already well ahead of No. 2 Naples First Baptist Academy.

The Lions will now enjoy two weeks off, their scheduled bye week and a bye for being one of the top two seeds in Region 4-2A.

Asked if this was his team’s “statement” game, Sims did what most coaches do, exercised caution.

“It’s almost like climbing the stairmaster,” he said. “The power is still on so you have to take a step every week until the power is out so we’ll keep moving, try to improve each week and see where we end up.”Lead here

KROP DRUBS HIALEAH GARDENS

Still stinging from a lopsided loss to Goleman a week ago, their first of the year, the Krop Lightning took out its frustrations on Hialeah Gardens on Thursday afternoon, winning 44-8 over the host Gladiators.

Krop was led by Reginald Alvin, who had 189 yards receiving and two touchdowns. He has more than 1,000 yards receiving for the year. Antonio Smith ran for 101 yards and two scores to put him over 1,000 rushing yards on the year.

Quarterback Jacob Golan threw for three more touchdowns to bring his total to 25 on the season, and senior running back Maike Joseph chipped in with 103 yards on the ground.

Defensively, linebacker Jamar Randle led the way with 11 tackles while defensive lineman Gary Edmand had a career day with 12 tackles, six for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery. Senior DB Armand Givens finished the game off with a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown to get the running clock moving.

Girls’ volleyball

▪ Region 4-4A quarterfinal — St. Brendan d. Pompano Beach 3-0 (25-13, 28-26, 25-13): Nataly Hernandez 10 kills, 5 blocks; Juliana Lentz 8 kills, 4 blocks; Allison Ibarria 25 assists, 6 digs, 3 aces; Sophia Diaz 11 digs. STB: 23-4. St. Brendan will host Cardinal Gibbons in region semifinal Oct. 29 at 7 pm.

▪ Region 4-2A quarterfinal — Miami Christian d, Boca Raton Donna Klein Jewish 3-0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-18): MC coach JC Rosario made history for being the first coach to win two district titles in a row and advancing to the regional semifinal round two years in a row, Angelica Ortiz (18 kills, 9 aces, 6 digs), Melissa Alfonso (27 assists, 7 aces, 3 digs) and Sharon Berkeley (10 kills, 2 aces , 5 digs) led the way for the No. 3 seed Lady Victors, who will now travel to take on No. 2 seed Boca Raton Christian in a semifinal Oct. 29 at 7 p.m.

This story was originally published October 25, 2019 at 8:08 PM.