Champagnat’s bid for three state titles in a row denied in 41-23 loss to Trinity Christian

Traveling all the way to Tallahassee takes a long time and each of the last two years, the Hialeah Champagnat Lions found it well worth the trip as they brought back a pair of state championship trophies.

But on Thursday night, the Lions got to see firsthand how it feels to be on the other side of the coin as they fell to Jacksonville Trinity Christian 41-23 in the Class 2A state championship game at Gene Cox Stadium. The Conquerors (10-4) won their second consecutive state title and ninth overall.

Following the game, Champagnat players had to begrudgingly accept their runner-up trophy, something they clearly had no intention of wanting to bring home. They didn’t want to hear about how they had become only the third team in state history to make six straight championship game appearances, they wanted to bring home state title trophy number five.

“Just a tough night,” said Champagnat head coach Hector Clavijo. “We made too many mistakes and just couldn’t stop those two running backs. We knew coming in what they were going to do and they went out and just did it on us. Give Trinity Christian a lot of credit, they’re a great team and when you make it all the way to the championship game, there is nothing ever to apologize for.”

The two backs Clavijo referred to were the one-two dynamic punch of Trinity Christian’s Treyaun Webb and Darnell Rogers. Together the two were nearly unstoppable as they combined for 341 yards on 40 carries and five of their team’s six touchdowns. Webb, who was an Oklahoma commit until last week when he decommitted after Lincoln Riley left of USC, did most of the damage in the first half.

Webb had nearly 100 yards as the first quarter ended and finished as the game’s leading rusher with 173 yards on 22 carries and two scores while Rogers, only a sophomore, who set up many times from the wildcat position, did most of his damage in the second half, finishing with 168 yards on 18 carries and three scores.

“We just made too many mistakes at crucial moments,” said Champagnat freshman quarterback Ennio Yapoor who, if he suffered from any kind of stage fright being on the big stage for the first time, didn’t show it as he completed 21-of-35 passes for 336 yards and two touchdowns.

“We came out here and battled all the way to the end but we knew we were going up against a really good team and just didn’t play well enough to win. I’m still proud of my teammates and what we accomplished this year. I’ve got three more years and I plan on getting back here and get this right.”

Yapoor and the Lions (10-3) couldn’t have gotten off to a better start as they took the opening kickoff and drove 74 yards in six plays. The payoff shot came on third-and-four from the TC 40 when Yapoor was about to take off and scramble for the first down. At the last second, he spotted Kelvin Blount coming wide open over the middle, hit him in stride and watched him outrace Trinity Christian defenders to the end zone and it was 7-0.

But Trinity Christian wasted little time answering the Champagnat score when Webb capped a very quick four-play, 72 yard drive with a 43-yard touchdown run to square things at 7-7 less than four minutes into the game.

Following a Champagnat punt, the Conquerors took off downfield again going 64 yards in just five plays. When quarterback Collin Hurley found Seth Bialek for a 14-yard score to make it 14-7 TC with 3:48 left in the first, it looked like the first half was going to be an offensive explosion.

But both defenses shut down both offenses for the remainder of the first half and the Lions still only trailed by seven at the break. But a 48 yard kickoff return by Trinity Christian to start the second half was a foreboding sign of things to come for the Lions.

The Conquerors turned the ensuing short field (from the Champagnat 42) into a 12-yard scoring run by Rogers to make it 21-7. Late in the third quarter, the Lions put together a drive that got them to the TC 12 with a first and six. But Yapoor then got sacked for a nine yard loss which was followed by a penalty and another sack, eventually leaving them with a fourth-and-24 at the 30 before another incomplete pass ended the drive.

Webb and Rogers then went to work on the next drive as they pounded their way down the field on a 12 play drive before Rogers went over from three yards out to make it 27-7 with 9:47 left.

The Lions finally put another scoring drive together as Yapoor led his team on a quick 60-yard, six play drive, running the final 11 yards for a score. The Lions, who lost their punter/kicker Jefrey Ramos to a knee injury in the second quarter, were forced to go for two and got it to make it 27-15 with 7:44 left.

They still had some life when the defense got a quick three-and-out and gave the offense the ball back at midfield with 5:02 left. But a crucial intentional grounding call on Yapoor (that Champagnat coaches vehemently argued against as a receiver appeared to be in the area) left the Lions with a fourth-and-long and they turned the ball over on downs on the next play.

Rogers eventually scored his third TD from a yard out with 2:53 left to make it 34-15 and even though the Lions got it back quickly when Yapoor found Marvin Sims for a 51-yard score just a minute later, an unsuccessful ensuing onside kick gave TC the ball at the 45 and Webb finished things off with 46 yard touchdown to close out the scoring.

“I actually thought our defense did a decent job of settling in after a tough first quarter and hung in there for awhile keeping us in the game,” said Clavijo. “But eventually there was a wear-down effect and they started to get worn down in that last quarter. It is what it is. If we wanted to win this game tonight, we had to find a way to stop those two backs and we didn’t do that. I’m still proud of our kids though because they kept battling all the way to the end.”

This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 11:00 PM.