Overlooked no more: Chaminade’s defense matching offense’s might during 2-0 start
Zaquan Patterson was out to make a statement.
Patterson, Hollywood Chaminade’s star safety and recent University of Miami commitment, said he heard some trash-talk about his cover skills coming from his opposing sideline on Friday night.
It prompted him to make the play of the game during the Lions’ 41-4 rout of host Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons.
“He’s a dawg and that’s what he does,” Chaminade coach Dameon Jones said. “He helps us in every game and makes big plays. That’s just the player he is.”
As a pass reached Chiefs’ wide receiver Antonio Lindsay, Patterson ripped the ball from his grasp for an interception. He then powered his way out of Lindsay’s grasp as he desperately clung to his right leg trying to make the tackle and ran 35 yards for a touchdown.
“I heard them say on their sideline, ‘He can’t guard you,’” Patterson said. “I knew they were gonna come at me eventually. I looked at the sideline and I said to them ‘throw the ball.’ As soon as I saw the ball go up, I knew he wasn’t getting it. I just took it. After that, it was touchdown all the way.”
The play might as well have symbolized the statement on a larger scale that Chaminade’s defense has made the past two weeks to lead the Lions to a pair of impressive wins and a 2-0 start to the season.
Chaminade, ranked No. 7 in the nation by MaxPreps, returned two interceptions for touchdowns in last week’s 35-14 win over Baltimore St. Frances Academy and blanked Gibbons’ offense this week as the Chiefs (1-1) scored their only points on two early safeties.
With so many four- and five-star prospects on their offense, Patterson said the Lions’ defense can sometimes be overlooked despite having its own share of elite talent.
“We’re not relying on our offense this year,” Patterson said. “We wanted to make a statement that we can come out and play and we don’t need our offense to score all these points for us to win. “We’ve got so many 5-stars and great players on offense, we sometimes get overlooked (on defense). But we go up against each other every day in practice and a lot of these kids are going to get their looks eventually especially with the national schedule we play this year.”
A high snap on a punt that rolled through the end zone accounted for the first safety. Gibbons’ defense then stuffed running back Arwin Jackson behind the goal line for the other.
Just like last week, Chaminade overcame the early deficit and put together a huge scoring surge. Patterson’s pick-6 was part of a run of 41 unanswered points after Gibbons jumped out to a 4-0 lead after a quarter.
“It’s crazy. The defensive coaches are doing a heck of a job,” Jones said. “That’s the side we weren’t sure about (coming into the season) because we graduated a lot of players on our defense, but those guys are answering the call.”
Patterson’s takeaway came moments after N.C. State commit Cedrick Bailey threw the first of three touchdown passes with the initial score going for 23 yards to Kyle Washington on a perfect pass over the middle.
Bailey went 18 for 26 passing for 188 yards and an interception in the second quarter that bounced off the hands of Jeremiah Smith. The two would connect later on for an 11-yard touchdown that would prompt a running clock midway through the fourth quarter. Smith caught seven passes for 86 yards and Washington finished with five catches for 45 yards as Chaminade played without 5-star receiver and Miami Hurricanes commit Jojo Trader, who remained out with an arm injury he suffered in last week’s game against St. Frances.
The Lions ran for a combined 159 yards led by Jackson (80 yards) and Davion Gause (66 yards), who scored on a 33-yard touchdown early in the second half.
“We haven’t even played a good game yet,” Jones said. “Even today, we started off sloppy with two safeties. We don’t expect it until about game four or five and that’s been us almost every year.”
MORE SCORES
Friday
American 47, South Miami 0
Archbishop McCarthy 48, North Broward Prep 21
Blanche Ely 42, Cypress Bay 13
Boca Raton Spanish River 43, Somerset Key 0
Bushnell South Sumter 34, North Miami Beach 13
Calvary Christian 33, John Carroll 20
Daytona Beach Mainland 35, West Broward 0
Deerfield Beach 30, Coral Glades 12
Delray Atlantic 33, Monarch 32
Florida Christian 14, Naples Aubrey Rogers 6
Gainesville (Ga.) 30, Coconut Creek 22
Gulliver 42, Everglades Prep 6
Hialeah 33, Miami Springs 0
Hialeah Gardens 14, Reagan 0
Hollywood Hills 18, Palm Beach Garcia 0
Homestead 35, South Dade 0
Lakeland Lake Gibson 29, North Miami 26 (OT)
Monsignor Pace 21, La Salle 0
Naples 36, Dillard 19
Norland 45, Carol City 0
Nova 26, Cooper City 6
Palmer Trinity 34, Tavernier Coral Shores 14
Palmetto 26, St. Pete Lakewood 12
Piper 38, Coral Springs 0
Plantation 56, Stranahan 28
Plantation American Heritage 28, Jacksonville Trinity Christian 6
St. Thomas Aquinas 49, Fort Myers 0
Somerset Silver Palms 52, Marathon 6
South Broward 30, Everglades 6
South Plantation 25, Taravella 6
Southridge 27, Dr. Krop 22
True North 70, BridgePrep 0
Westminster Academy 24, Delray American Heritage 17
Westminster Christian 32, Avant Garde Academy 26
Thursday
Booker T. 0, Edison 0 (susp., 1st)
Cardinal Newman 41, Belen Jesuit 0
Columbus 38, Killian 0
Coral Reef 19, Varela 7
Doral 40, Palm Glades Prep 0
Ferguson 22, Sunset 14
Goleman 7, Archbishop Carroll 0 (susp., 1st)
Miami High 44, Miami Beach 0
NSU University 58, Pine Crest 14
Pembroke Pines Charter 24, Coral Springs Charter 22
St. Brendan 21, Somerset Homestead 14
Wednesday
Northeast 12, Pompano Beach 7
This story was originally published September 1, 2023 at 11:32 PM.
