Key goal line stand early ignites Chaminade’s impressive rout of Miami Northwestern
Usually on Saturday mornings, Chaminade senior nose tackle Wayne Peart is still asleep around 11 a.m.
Not this Saturday morning.
Peart and the Lions got up bright and early to take on Miami Northwestern in a matchup of two of the best teams in the country at Traz Powell Stadium.
By about 11:20 a.m. Peart was leading the push up front on a goal line stand that would swing the momentum in Chaminade’s favor for good during an impressive 42-14 rout of the Bulls.
“I just have to do my job,” said Peart, who followed up a six-sack game against Dillard last week with two more against Northwestern. “I always have my boys’ backs. I like keeping my boys locked in and keep the momentum going.”
Peart (6-3, 290 pounds), whom coach Dameon Jones called “underrated” after the game, led the charge as the Lions defensive front stuffed Northwestern running back Marlin Cochran for no gain on fourth and goal from the 1-yard line with the game tied at 7 early in the second quarter.
Chaminade (3-0), ranked No. 11 nationally by MaxPreps, would score 35 unanswered points beginning with a 99-yard drive that was capped by Davion Gause’s 1-yard touchdown run on a direct snap.
Unlike Cochran’s run, Gause found no resistance at the goal line as he walked in to the end zone for the second of his two touchdown runs.
Chaminade’s offense spent the rest of the game hitting big plays as Cedric Bailey threw four touchdown passes - two to Jeremiah Smith and two to sophomore Kyle Washington as the Lions built a 42-7 lead. This prompted a running clock midway through the third quarter - a rarity for Northwestern (2-1), which entered the game ranked 30th nationally.
“We got better this week,” Jones said. “We haven’t peaked yet and I’m not going to say we didn’t make a lot of mistakes, but we got better and beat a very good Northwestern team.”
The Bulls answered Chaminade’s early touchdown with a 10-yard touchdown run by quarterback Taron Dickens in the first quarter. But Northwestern’s offense took a hit when it lost starting running back Jamari Ford to a right shoulder injury after the game’s first drive.
The Lions arrived at the stadium shortly before kickoff, but quickly went through warmups to begin a game that was postponed from Thursday night due to inclement weather.
It didn’t faze them one bit as Bailey found Joshisa Trader open downfield for a 50-yard gain after his defender fell down.
Lions’ players talked some smack throughout the game often making a “horns down” gesture with their hands to mock the signature Bulls’ “horns up” gesture with the index and pinky fingers raised.
Chaminade backed it up in all three phases as its special teams also blocked their second punt in as many weeks when Denzel Johnson made the big play, setting up a 5-yard touchdown toss from Bailey to Smith to put the Lions ahead 21-7 at the half.
“That’s the kind of stuff we practice all week,” Jones said. “We see stuff like that on film and we attack it.”
Chaminade’s schedule has no let up as the Lions will now prepare for another matchup against a nationally-ranked team when it takes on Plantation American Heritage, ranked No. 13 by MaxPreps entering the week, on Friday at home.
“I love it,” Peart said. “It’s all about the competition.”
This story was originally published September 10, 2022 at 2:47 PM.