South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Gause tops 1,000-yard mark in blowout
HOLLYWOOD — Chaminade-Madonna sophomore running back Davion Gause carried 7 times for 55 yards and two touchdowns to lead the host Lions to a 51-6 victory over Stranahan on Friday night.
Gause also went over 1,000 yards rushing for the season early in the game. In addition to his scoring runs of 1 and 2 yards, he ran his season total to 148 carries for 1,037 yards and 10 TDs on the ground despite losing two games to COVID this season. They close out with St. Pete Lakewood (8-0) next week at home before the postseason.
“First off, I want to thank my O-line and my coaches because without them I wouldn’t have had
1,000 yards this year,” said Gause, who had 762 yards on the ground last year for the Lions who fell
25-22 in the Class 3A state semifinals to Trinity Christian Academy at home. They had won back-toback state titles before that.
“Getting 1,000 yards was just one of my goals this year,” he added. “We can be really good, a nationally ranked team if we come out early and do what we are supposed to do the whole game.”
Lions’ sophomore quarterback Cedric Bailey completed 4 of 10 passes in the first half for 108 yards and two TDs, both going to Jeremiah Smith. Chaminade also picked up a 32-yard punt-return score and a safety to complete the rout for the Lions.
Chaminade (6-1), ranked No.
3 overall in the state and No. 1 in Class 3A, won for a fifth straight time.
Chaminade-Madonna jumped out to a 7-0 lead thanks to a
16-yard punt return by Brian Dilworth to the Dragons’ 40. On the first play from scrimmage, Bailey hit Gause on a screen for a
39-yard game to the 1, and Gause scored on the next play.
The Lions made it 14-0 with
3:30 remaining in the first quarter when 55 returned a botched punt 32 yards for the score. Stranahan punter Travis Gammage Jr. retrieved a bad snap and attempted to get the punt off with two Lions defenders draped around his waist and the ball found senior linebacker Chase Henderson, who returned the ball untouched for the score.
Chaminade extended the lead to 21-0 with 19.2 seconds left in the first quarter on an 18-yard scoring toss from Bailey to Smith. On the drive, Gause went over 1,000 yards rushing for the season with a 39-yard run to set up the score.
Gause struck paydirt again early in the second quarter on a
2-yard scoring run to extend the lead to 28-0. Following a safety when Gammage was tackled in the end zone, Bailey and Smith hooked up again for a second time, this time covering 14 yards
for the score and started the running clock.
“We had a good game plan and just did what we had to do,” said Bailey, who finished the game 4 of 10 for 108 yards and two scores. “We started off fast and it was a good game. It was a fun game and our second string got in and they did well.”
Chaminade-Madonna coach Dameon Jones said the game plan was to get out to a quick start.
“You always have a target on your back and you don’t want to sleep for nobody,” Jones said. “Games like this man, you want to stay sharp, and you want to stay healthy. You want to get better week by week.”
The Lions added a score with
1:30 left in the third when Xavier Thompson hit Jamai Rutherford on an 18-yard scoring toss. The play followed an 86-yard interception return by Jeremiah McGill.
Zaquan Patterson recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Thompson hit Johnoy Johnston for a 3-yard score to extend the lead to 51-0.
Stranahan (5-3), the
17th-ranked team in Florida by MaxPreps in Class 5A, avoided a shutout when Omar Graham scored on a 2-yard run on the final play of the game.