Champagnat faced many challenges before reaching the title game. Here’s what’s at stake
Perhaps they should change their nicknames from the Lions to the “Vagabonds.”
That’s the way life is if you play football for Champagnat Catholic, the team “without a home.”
Forget a home field to play games, the Lions have never even had a regular practice field to work on over the years.
This past season, which has been disrupted because of the COVID-19 pandemic, their home was a small church field in North Miami. No busses after school. Players, like any other year, were on their own to find their own means of transportation to get there.
But no matter the case, no matter the size of the school, when it comes to on-field success, Champagnat has spent the past five seasons dominating Class 2A in the state of Florida.
Lion players left at 4 a.m. on Tuesday morning traveling in something they’ve become quite accustomed to through the years — a bus. Next stop: Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee. That is where they are scheduled to take on Jacksonville University Christian in the 2A state championship on Wednesday at 1 p.m.
It marks the team’s fifth consecutive appearance in the 2A title game, something only four other programs in South Florida (Central, Booker T. Washington, St. Thomas Aquinas and Chaminade) have done.
Whether it’s Naples, Moore Haven, Tampa, wherever the arrow on the map points to, this is a program that has adapted to life on the road. They ran through five consecutive weeks on the road in the state playoffs to make the title game.
“Every kid who comes to play here basically knows what they’re signing up for, a lot of success on the field but a lot of sacrifice as well,” said third-year coach Hector Clavijo. “We just do whatever we have to do when it comes to finding places to play and in the end, that helps when it comes to just going on the road and playing teams at their place.”
This year has been even tougher, even by Champagnat standards, because of COVID-19 restrictions put in place, players were forced to do everything when it came to actual school work virtually.
“In a way, having to deal with all of the added turmoil this year due to COVID may have been a benefit for us,” Clavijo said. “A lot of these programs may not have been used to all the disruption but our kids have come to learn how to just roll with this stuff and that’s what they did.”
The Lions, as they always do, played a challenging regular-season schedule and finished with a 5-2 mark with losses to Tru Prep Academy and fellow state finalist Chaminade.
So even though, thanks to a blind draw, the defending 2A state champs were forced to play a first-round play-in game Nov. 5, none of it mattered. Their 2A competition keeping them from getting back to Tallahassee offered zero resistance.
Don’t believe us?
The Lions outscored Belle Glade Glades Day, Naples First Baptist Academy, Moore Haven, Naples Community School and Seffner Christian by a combined score of 279-46, which averages out to 56-9.
“We just go out and do what we have to do and deal with whatever we have to deal with,” said star wide receiver and all-purpose athlete Malik Rutherford, who has 32 receptions for 510 yards and seven touchdowns this season. He will take his athletic talents to Georgia Tech next year. “Everyday it always seems like there is something new so we just look at all of this as a regular challenge for us and this year was no different than any other year. We feel like going through all of this brings us together closer as a team more so than maybe other teams that don’t have to deal with as much.”
Before he heads off to Georgia Teach, Rutherford is hoping to cap off his high school career with back-to-back state titles but the Lions will find the competition much stiffer than their previous five playoff opponents.
University Christian has won a total of nine state championships (including a 24-8 win over Champagnat in 2016) and will bring a six-game winning streak into the contest.
“We’ll be ready to go, we’re always ready,” said Rutherford. “I really want to close my career out with another state title.”
Girls’ soccer
▪ Carrollton 2, Ransom 1: 7 saves for GK Margarita Miyares; Goals: Cecilia Pino (1) and Beatrice Stone (1), Assist: Lexi Molina (1).
▪ Krop (4-0) 5, Ferguson 0: Goals: Jacqueline Lew 2 goals, Mai-Lisa Atis 2 goals, Sigine Atis 1. Shutout Alysa Marquez.
▪ St. Brendan (5-2-1) 8, Westwood Christian 0: Rincon 3 goals; Micali 2; Hernandez 1, Llorens 1, Perez 1.
Girls’ basketball
▪ Lourdes Academy 64, Krop 56: Lourdes was led by Annie Lassegue with 18 points, Emily Mayor with 17 points, Anna Sophia Sanchez 10 points and Luciana Picasso with 10 points. Krop was led by Lindsey Weingard with 26 points, 7 steals and 4 assists, Lauryn Hornstein 12 points, Emmy Mills 7 points, 9 Rebounds and Neyida Michel 4 points, rebounds.
▪ Homestead 46, Colonial Christian 21: Shamaya Williams 14 pts, 4 reb, 6 stls; Da’Cora Thomas 13 pts, 5 reb, 3 stls; Shanaii Gamble 11 pts, 11 reb, 5 stls.
Girls’ volleyball
▪ Southwest d. Cypress Bay (25-13, 25-21, 25-21): Southwest moves on to the Tri-County Tournament Final. Layla Cortez 17 Kills, 4 digs; Sheila Rodriguez 12 kills; Gina Chickillo 39 assists, 6 digs.