Chaminade-Madonna holds off Gulliver Prep in battle of state championship contenders
Chaminade-Madonna had an unexpected week off, but it didn’t stop the Lions from continuing to roll with an impressive win over fellow heavyweight Gulliver Prep in Hollywood.
Chaminade celebrated homecoming by handing Gulliver its first loss of the year Friday with a 31-16 win at Vince Zaponne Field. The Lions’ offense led the way, with quarterback Cedrick Bailey connecting with star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith for a pair of first-half touchdowns before Duane Thomas Jr. rushed into the end zone twice after halftime.
The win came one week after Chaminade (5-1) had a road game against Fort Lauderdale canceled due to COVID-19 cases.
“These two weeks hurt by not playing because I think we are getting week by week,” Chaminade coach Dameon Jones said. “We are not there yet. We still have got a lot of work that we have got to do and not playing hurts, but getting this game tonight was a good win.”
Chaminade never trailed and won by a two-score margin, but putting away Gulliver (5-1) was tricky. The Raiders got back into the game the two times as it looked like the Lions were going to pull away, but a 53-yard touchdown run by Thomas with 2:39 left in the fourth quarter sealed the home team’s win.
“I was just worried about getting a first down, so when he house-called it I said, ‘I will take that, too,’” Jones said. “He has been running hard for us all year, catching balls for us all year. He has been making plays.”
The Lions initially jumped out to a 14-3 lead. Bailey found Smith with a touchdown pass to the right for the game’s first score with 2:32 to play in the opening quarter. The two combined to score again shortly after, with Smith making a 21-yard reception in the end zone on a similar play that again saw Bailey throw to the right with 7:57 remaining in the second quarter.
“That was big for us,” Jones said. “That gave us 14 points early and that connection is going to get bigger and bigger. Both of them are sophomores, so I am proud of them.”
Gulliver trimmed the deficit to 14-10 about six minutes before halftime. Star wide receiver Jalen Brown jumped high to catch a pass from star quarterback Carson Haggard near the right sideline and raced untouched into the end zone for the Raiders.
The Lions then lost Smith to an injury in the opening seconds of the third quarter, but the offense kept ticking with some good runs by Thomas and Davion Gause.
Thomas made it 21-10 in his team’s favor, rushing from 2 yards out with just over five minutes to play in the third. A close-range field goal from Samir Atassi added to the lead early in the fourth.
The Raiders refused to surrender, however. Star wide De’Carlo Donaldson caught a short pass to bring Gulliver within a score again with 9:52 remaining in the game, though the extra-point attempt was missed and left the score at 24-16.
Chaminade put the visitors away once and for all with 2:39 left to play, when Thomas broke free for the game-sealing touchdown.
“We still have got work to do, but I am happy because it is getting better week by week,” said Jones. “From Week 1 to now we have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go if we want to be playing in late December.”
This story was originally published October 16, 2021 at 12:21 AM.