Chavez’s breakout performance leads Columbus to shutout of Palmetto in region semifinals
A disjointed first half in the Region 4-Class 4M semifinals was ticking toward a conclusion and Columbus, once again, was poised to go into halftime trailing Palmetto.
The Explorers had run just 19 plays and failed to score twice inside the Panthers’ 35-yard line, and now Palmetto was lining up to kick a field goal and potentially take a lead into the second half.
With one diving effort from Ahmere Foster and a 100-yard dash from Hector Chavez, everything flipped. The star safety blocked the Panthers’ kick and Columbus’ middle linebacker ran it all the way back 100 yards for the first points of the game. The floodgates were open: The Explorers scored on every possession until time expired and pulled away for a 28-0 rout at Tropical Park in Miami.
“If offense can’t do it, somebody’s got to do it and I kind of wanted to set the momentum,” Chavez said. “It gave everybody the momentum.”
Columbus quarterback Alberto Mendoza threw touchdowns on the Explorers’ first three drives of the second half and Columbus (11-1) ran out the clock on its third.
With their second win against the Panthers (6-6) this season, the Explorers are headed to a region championship for the fourth time in five years and will host Doral Academy for the Region 4-4M title next week at Tropical Park.
This was the fifth meeting in two years between Columbus and Palmetto and so there were no secrets for either side to hide — or so they thought.
The Panthers added a new wrinkle this week by having Palmetto athlete Jacory Barney play about half the game at quarterback and he tormented Columbus by running four times for 91 yards, going 6 of 6 for 34 yards as a passer and still making five catches for 73 yards.
The Explorers had their own secret weapon, though: Chavez was hurt and didn’t play in the first meeting between the Miami-Dade County rivals back in September and the sophomore was perhaps the best player on the field in the rematch.
His touchdown was only a small part of an all-around spectacular performance. Chavez also recorded two sacks, three tackles for loss and at least a dozen total tackles, disrupting any traditional offense the Panthers tried to run.
Behind Chavez, Columbus cornerback Jeffrey Bandy also nabbed three interceptions, with Explorers defensive lineman Daylen Russell also adding a sack.
“Three picks is usually the headline,” Columbus coach Dave Dunn joked.
Instead, Chavez and the turning-point moment he delivered right before halftime were the story for the Explorers, who are No. 31 in MaxPreps’ national rankings.
If it had made the chip-shot field goal, Palmetto was in position to take a lead into halftime, just as it had in each of the last four meetings with Columbus. Chavez’s return gave the Explorers a 7-0 with 2:09 left in the second quarter and the Panthers never recovered.
“It was big,” Dunn said. “I just felt once we get a score, it’d get us some momentum and then once we get a second score — I told our guys, We’ll get a second score and you’ll see. We’re going to roll.”
Columbus forced Palmetto to punt near midfield on the first drive of the half and then got the offensive balance it was looking for. On the Explorers’ first drive of the second half, star running back Sedrick Irvin Jr. ran four times and Mendoza threw five, and Columbus pushed its lead to 14-0 when Mendoza connected with Explorers wide receiver Fadrelle Andrus with 4:43 left in the third.
After going just 1 of 6 for 6 yards in the first half, Mendoza finished 8 of 15 for 94 yards and three touchdowns, and set up the last score with a 45-yard run into the red zone.
The junior’s other two touchdowns went to Columbus wide receiver Darriel Harper and Irvin, who’s orally committed to the Stanford Cardinal.
Irvin finished with 17 carries for 64 yards, plus two catches for 13 yards and the touchdown.
“It wasn’t like we ran anything that was earth-shattering in the second half,” Dunn said. “We ran stuff that we’ve run all year. We just got better at it and I think we kind of wore them down a little bit in that third and fourth quarter.”
MORE REGION SEMIFINAL SCORES
4-4M: Doral Academy 32, Davie Western 21
3-4M: Palm Beach Central 55, Parkland Douglas 23
4-3M: Homestead 35, Miami Dr. Krop 12; Miramar 29, Miami Southridge 24.
3-3M: Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas 63, Delray Beach Atlantic 14
4-2M: Miami Central 34, Miami Northwestern 30; Miami Norland 14, Miami Booker T. Washington 7
4-1M: Miami Palmer Trinity 27, Miami Archbishop Carroll 24; Miami True North Academy 41, Miami Westminster Christian 20.
3-1M: Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna 48, Hollywood Avant Garde Academy 0.
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
3-4M: Palm Beach Gardens vs. Monarch (Northeast), 7
3-3M: Pompano Beach Blanche Ely at Fort Lauderdale Dillard, 5
3-2M: Boynton Beach at Plantation American Heritage, 1
This story was originally published November 18, 2022 at 11:19 PM.