Crusaders erase double-digit deficit

WEST PALM BEACH — Cardinal Newman freshman quarterback Davi Belfort rushed for a go-ahead touchdown late in the third and the host Crusaders rallied back from an 11-point halftime deficit and held off Clewiston for a 19-14 victory in a non-district contest on Friday night.

Cardinal Newman (5-2) trailed 14-3 at halftime before scoring 16 points in the third quarter.

Clewiston (4-1) had a short punt and also failed to get a punt attempt off twice from inside its 10-yard line during the game-changing quarter. The Crusaders were able to capitalize with a short field to score on all three possessions in the third.

“We are playing a good football team,” Cardinal Newman coach

Jack Daniels said. “We held them to two big plays in the first half that they scored their touchdowns on. But, defensively they played great. To kickoff the second half, if we can get a stop and a score here, we can get right back in this ball game and we did and kind of turned and changed the momentum.”

Clewiston had a scoring chance late in the fourth inside the Crusaders’ 20, but came up empty. Junior Cole Dillon made a tackle in the backfield for a sevenyard loss on the first play of the series. Senior Domenico Fusca broke up a screen pass on fourth down at the Crusaders 18-yard line with 2:30 left. The Crusaders extended their win streak to four games.

“We are coming together as a team,” Daniels said. “We practice hard and are just getting better in all areas. Our running game has carried us a little bit. We really focused on being more physical and it’s now paying off for us.”

On the first possession of the second half, the Tigers were backed up and unable to get a punt attempt off on fourth down as they were tackled inside the 5-yard line. Sophomore running back Tovani Mizell took a handoff and bounced out left for a 4-yard touchdown run.

The Tigers had a short punt on their next possession. Junior running back Henry Bennett made a third-down catch to the Tigers’ 8 to extend the drive. Senior kicker Andrew MacMillan converted a 25-yard first goal to cut the deficit to 14-13.

The Tigers again were backed up on offense on their next series. After lining up to punt on fourth down, they mishandled the ball again and were tackled inside the 5. Belfort rushed for a 1-yard score with nine seconds left in the third.

The Crusaders jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter as MacMillan connected on a 29-yard field goal.

On the ensuing possession, senior running back Johnny Crawford III raced up the middle of the field for an 80-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers a 7-3 lead with 9:46 left in the first half.

The Tigers moved into Crusaders territory on their next drive. Senior quarterback Zo’Marion Harper, a Glades Central transfer, fired a 26-yard scoring pass to junior wide receiver Chauncy Cobb, who made a leaping catch in the end zone.

Crawford had a long touchdown run down the right sideline negated due to an offensive holding penalty early in the fourth.