Gibbons rallies to beat Lakewood in 4A semifinal
Besides being the defending Class 4A champions, the Cardinal Gibbons Chiefs should also be called the comeback kids.
For the second week in a row Cardinal Gibbons rallied from a first-half deficit to earn a playoff victory.
Another stellar performance by junior quarterback Dylan Rizk paved the way for Gibbons’ 36-18 victory over St. Petersburg Lakewood in a 4A semifinal Friday at Cardinal Gibbons High School.
The Chiefs (10-2) will play Cocoa for the state championship on Dec. 16 at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. Gibbons will be playing for its third championship in four years. If victorious, it could become only the second Broward County Athletic Association team besides St. Thomas Aquinas to win back-to-back titles.
Rizk was special in the fourth quarter, passing for a 26-yard score to Elisha Edwards and sealing the game on a 5-yard run with 7:03 to go.
“At half we just talked that we needed to get in our groove,” Rizk said. “We got back into our game and good things happen when we do that.
It’s always good to come back when you’re down at the half.”
Rizk finished with 56 rushing yards and passed for 143 yards in the win.
“Eat your spinach,” coach Matt Dubuc told his players at the half. “Rizk did some good things, but we won the game and that’s all that counts.”
Gibbons was prepared for Friday by playing a challenging regular-season schedule, which included three games against other state semifinalists.
Trailing 18-16, Dubuc dug into his bag of tricks with a fake punt that resulted in a 55-yard touchdown run by Mason Thomas. The Chiefs went ahead 22-18 with 2:32 left in the third quarter and never relinquished the lead from there.
Gibbons was impressive on its opening possession, driving 78 yards on 13 plays, while taking 6:35 off the clock before junior running back Kamari Moulton scored the first of his two touchdowns on a 2-yard run for a 7-0 lead.
The Chiefs’ defense, however, struggled to defend Lakewood’s vaunted passing attack, as junior quarterback Anthony Colandrea picked apart his opponent. He threw for 158 yards in the first half, with touchdown passes of 25 and 13 yards to senior wideout and Alabama commit Amari Niblack and senior Diezel Spann, respectively.
Sandwiched between those touchdowns was a 9-yard run by Montravius Lloyd. Those scores gave the Spartans an 18-7 lead.
Gibbons fought back with a 58-yard drive on Moulton’s second score with 37.9 seconds left in the opening half. The 2point conversion failed and the Chiefs trailed 18-13, but the Chiefs’ third-quarter trickery let them rally for another trip to the 4A championship.
Chaminade-Madonna 38, Tallahassee Florida State University 3: All season long, the Chaminade-Madonna Lions have basically dominated their opponents from start to finish. So why would anything have been any different Friday?
Hosting Tallahassee Florida State University in a Class 3A semifinal at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School, the Lions ran the show from the start of the second quarter on and cruised to a dominating victory.
The win sends the Lions (10-1) to their sixth consecutive state championship game. They’ll face Tampa Berkeley Prep next Friday at Gene Cox Stadium in Tallahassee.
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