Chaminade starts title sweep for South Florida, makes case for national championship | Opinion
Another year, another stellar showing by Miami-Dade and Broward County high school football teams.
As they’ve been for the better part of the past decade, teams from two of the richest counties in the country for high school football will be well-represented at the state finals.
Six teams (three from Miami-Dade and three from Broward) will vie for championships starting this week when Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna heads up the road to Tallahassee to compete in the Class 1M final.
Although due to the FHSAA condensing the area into four Metropolitan classifications, only that many titles are there for the taking.
However, the situation has created a historic moment, or actually two, as for the first time ever a Dade team will face a Broward team in a football state championship when Homestead clashes with St. Thomas Aquinas in Class 3M and Miami Central takes on Plantation American Heritage in Class 2M.
Add in a traditional Dade vs. Orlando battle when Miami Columbus takes on Apopka once again in Class 4M and next week’s session in Fort Lauderdale could be one of the most memorable ever.
I’ll break down those next week.
This week, it’s all about Chaminade and its historic seventh consecutive trip to the state final, which matches the state record held by Belle Glade Glades Central.
Let’s take a look at what the Lions are facing as they look to set the tone for what should be a South Florida sweep of the Metro classes.
Class 1M state championship - Chaminade (12-0) vs. Clearwater Central Catholic (12-1), 7, Thursday, Gene Cox Stadium, Tallahassee.
Chaminade is chasing its fifth state title in the past six years, its second in a row and its seventh overall, which would give it the second-most in Broward County all-time behind only St. Thomas Aquinas.
The Lions enter this game having won 23 consecutive games.
And this team has played about as tough a schedule as you can play, giving them a strong case to be considered for a national championship.
Chaminade, which enters the game ranked No. 2 in the country by High School Football America and fifth by MaxPreps, has wins over fellow top 10-ranked American Heritage, Maryland powerhouse St. Johns Prep, Miami Northwestern, West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman, Dillard, Gulliver, Avant Garde Academy and Treasure Coast - all playoff teams this season.
Clearwater Central Catholic could be Chaminade’s toughest test among its postseason opposition. The Marauders are making their second-ever appearance in the state finals and first since losing to Jacksonville Trinity Christian in 2013.
They are led on offense by sophomore quarterback Jershaun Newton, a dual threat standout who has thrown for 1,880 yards, 20 touchdowns and only two interceptions and run for 1,169 yards and 15 touchdowns. Newton has offers from Florida State, Ole Miss, Pitt, Illinois and West Virginia to name a few.
And he’s not the only 1,000-yard rusher in the backfield as senior Lenwood Sapp has run for 1,177 yards and 13 touchdowns. Senior Nate Johnson II, a Boston College commit, is Newton’s top receiving target with 47 catches for 827 yards and seven touchdowns. But the key will be if CCC’s offensive line led by tackle and Temple commit Kevin Terry can gain any traction against that stout Chaminade front.
The Marauders defense is led by linebacker and FAU commit Curtis Roberts and Carson Schiavello (six sacks) up front while their secondary has totaled 17 interceptions this season. But they’ll have their hands full against one of the best passing offenses in the country.
The Lions’ beatdown of True North Academy last week didn’t come as a surprise one bit. The Lions’ rout of Cardinal Newman the week before showed how far ahead they are of the competition in this class.
Chaminade is deep at nearly every spot when you talk about quarterback Cedrick Bailey, running back Davion Gause, receivers Jojo Trader, Jeremiah Smith and Edwin Joseph on offense, and Zaquan Patterson and Chris Ewald on defense. But it’s the glue guys like Duane Thomas on offense and Wayne Peart and Jeno Julius on defense and the bigs on the offensive line like William Larkins who make this team as formidable as any in the nation.
This team is on a different level than we’ve seen in recent years and this will be its coronation.
Dre’s pick: Chaminade 47, Clearwater Central Catholic 24.
NOTE: Next week, I’ll have my column predicting the championship games in Classes 4M-2M to be played Dec. 15-17 at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
Andre’s record - Last week: 5-1; Top 20: 5-1; Season - Overall: 458-118; Top 20: 164-27.
This story was originally published December 6, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
