Chaminade tops West Boca Raton in battle of reigning state champions
Chaminade-Madonna’s state championship run a year ago followed one of its tougher starts to a season this past decade.
The Lions dropped their first two games and outside doubts crept in before they stormed to 13 consecutive wins and their fourth state title in a row.
Chaminade wants to cut out that negative opening chapter this season.
Although it was an exhibition game, the Lions put together a solid icebreaker on Thursday night with an 18-10 road victory against reigning Class 6A state champion West Boca Raton.
Led by its passing game, Chaminade scored twice in the first half on touchdowns by Kentucky commit Denairius Gray and Florida State commit Jasen Lopez.
Senior running back and five-star recruit Derrek Cooper, a University of Texas commit, also ran for 80 yards.
Defensive end Trevoris Finley also had a sack for the Lions’ defense.
Chaminade struck first after Cooper broke loose for a 20-yard run, which set up Gray’s 6-yard touchdown on a sweep toward the far sideline.
West Boca answered when University of Miami commit Javian Mallory surged down the sideline for a 60-yard run into Chaminade territory. Chaminade’s defense stood up, though, and held West Boca to a 34-yard field goal by junior kicker Tristan Lamb.
The Lions marched on a time-consuming drive in the second quarter that ended with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Chance to Lopez.
Chaminade could have added more, but West Boca blocked an extra point and a field goal.
The Lions were also able to get some snaps for all three quarterbacks as freshman Malik Leonard and senior Darryon Jones, a transfer from Tampa Bay Tech, also played in the game.
Chaminade, which is chasing its eighth state title in the past nine seasons and looking to extend a state-record for finals appearances to 10, will now turn its attention to its regular season opener next Saturday at 8 when it faces Baltimore’s St. Frances Academy at St. Thomas Aquinas.
The game will pit the Lions, ranked No. 7 nationally by MaxPreps, against fifth-ranked St. Frances in the final game of the Broward County Football Showcase. The game is one of three in the event that will be broadcast on one of the ESPN networks, along with No. 10 Aquinas’ matchup against top-ranked Mater Dei, which precedes Chaminade’s game at 3:30 on Saturday.
American Heritage, ranked eighth by MaxPreps, takes on St. Joe’s Prep on Friday at 6 at St. Thomas Aquinas.
The Broward Showcase begins Thursday with a doubleheader at Dillard High starting with Piper taking on Peachtree Ridge (Ga.) at 4 and Monarch taking on Jacksonville Bolles at 8. Cardinal Gibbons will host Archbishop McCarthy at 7. Also on Friday at Dillard, West Broward will face Utah’s Corner Canyon at 4 and Dillard will host Orlando Dr. Phillips at 8
MORE SCORES
Wednesday: Krop 0, Coral Gables 0
Thursday: Western 13, Blanche Ely 11; Jupiter Christian 42, NSU University School 28
