South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Chaminade wins state title
Trailing 10-0, team closed with 38 straight points against King’s.
Nothing went right for Chaminade-Madonna early on Saturday morning.
Chaminade was flagged 12 times for 114 yards in the first half, and King’s Academy took advantage. King’s went up 10-0 against heavily favored Chaminade in those initial 24 minutes.
“We’ve been down before,” Chaminade coach Dameon Jones said. “When we were in Georgia to Muscle Shoals, we were down 14-zip. Games like that prepare you for this.”
But Chaminade’s talent won out eventually as the Hollywood side took the lead in the second quarter and never gave it up. Chaminade clinched its second straight Class 3A state title with a 38-10 victory over King’s Academy at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. It’s the fourth state title in program history.
King’s Academy rode several improbable victories to the program’s first state title berth, and the series of unlikely events continued into the first half on Saturday.
Sophomore cornerback Jayvon Wynn intercepted a
tipped pass and returned it to the Chaminade 13-yard line. Quarterback Justin Wake tossed a 14-yard pass to a wide-open Cory Croteau to give King’s the early lead, stunning the Chaminade sideline and fans.
King’s went further ahead on a 37-yard field goal by Bernie Cueto, but Chaminade took control of the game from there.
Miami Hurricanes commit Te’cory Couch intercepted a pass from Wake, and Chaminade went on a seven-play scoring drive to get on the board. Couch finished the game with a pair of interceptions.
“It was huge,” Jones said. “It was huge, just because it changed the momentum … and we needed that spark at that moment.”
Said Couch: “Offense scored right after the interception. We knew it was on from there.”
Willie Davis, starting for injured running back and Miami Hurricanes commit Thad Franklin, scored a pair of first-half touchdowns from 13 and 14 yards out, giving Chaminade the lead shortly before halftime. Davis finished the game with 83 rushing yards.
“(The first touchdown) was everything,” Davis said. “We started off sluggish. But the type of team we are.
“We always start off slow, but once we hit a big play, we just keep scoring.”
Chaminade stepped on the gas in the second half, scoring on the first play from scrimmage on a 71-yard pass from quarterback Daelen Menard to Elijah Canion. Menard tossed a second touchdown pass to Penn State commit John Dunmore late in the third quarter.
Menard wrapped up his final game with 218 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns.
In the closing seconds, the Lions’ Deidrick Stanley returned a punt 36 yards for the final score, clinching Chaminade’s second title in two years.
“Yeha, it feels different,” Jones said. “Last year was the first. This year is kind of like, all right, it’s for them and the Chaminade - Madonna community. … I’m just happy for them.”