HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA – Chaminade-Madonna has a new scoreboard, a new sound system and a roster with many new players in key positions.
The Lions’ high quality standards have remained the same.
Chaminade-Madonna enters the 2024 season as a serious contender for the state and national championships. They will be put to a tough test against St. John Bosco (Calif.) on August 26 in the Broward County National Football Showcase at St. Thomas Aquinas.
In preparation for the regular season, the Lions played a warm-up game against Miami Archbishop Carroll on Friday night.
It wasn’t a particularly big competition.
At Zappone Field, Chaminade-Madonna easily won 56-0 over the running Bulldogs, who threw only one pass in the exhibition match.
The game was an opportunity for both teams to get into the swing of things in the regular season, and even though the Bulldogs weren’t in great shape, they were extremely competitive.
These two teams met in the 2023 Class 1M semifinals and the Lions won 47-7.
Friday’s game was made possible because another opponent, Archbishop Carroll, had canceled. The Bulldogs looked around and Chaminade was available.
SBLive Florida was there and summarizes five takeaways from the Lions’ victory:
In recent years, the quarterback position has been in the capable hands of Cedrick Bailey, now at North Carolina State.
A real starter has not yet been determined.
On Friday night, Tyler Chance and Zach Kratz split time at quarterback, alternating every other series until the final few minutes of the game.
The Lions are ready to give both of them plenty of chances.
“We need everyone on board for our run,” said coach Dameon Jones. “We’re going to need both guys.”
Considering how effectively the Lions moved the ball on Friday, neither quarterback was really tested. Both led multiple scoring drives and each threw touchdown passes.
Both second-year students have potential.
“They both do something different,” Jones said. “They both have strong arms. They both have smarts. So it’s not good to leave one or the other on the bench.”
On their first offensive play, Chance threw a pass to Koby Howard, who did the rest, scoring a 40-yard touchdown. It was the first of two touchdowns for Howard, who scored a second touchdown on a 10-yard pass from Kratz to make it 14-0.
The changing of the guard at the receiver position will be closely watched this year.
In recent years, the Lions have had star receivers like Jeremiah Smith (now at Ohio State) and Joshisa Trader (Miami).
Now Howard (formerly of Western) is joined by Jabari Brady (formerly of Monarch), and Kyle Washington, who caught a touchdown pass on Friday, is also in the program.
Friday offered the receivers and quarterbacks another opportunity to work on their timing.
“We’re just getting a different perspective,” Jones said. “This (game) isn’t going to prepare us for Bosco, but we still have to prepare for Bosco.”
The Lions’ defense hasn’t been tested in the passing game, as Archbishop Carroll runs the ball on almost every play, so the Bulldogs’ style of play isn’t what the Lions will see against more traditional teams.
Nevertheless, Chaminade managed a shutout and scored two more touchdowns through two fumble recoveries.
Angelo Smith and Jaiden Roper both scored on fumble returns.
Like their offense, Chaminade’s defense is young and talented.
“You can expect Chaminade’s offense and defense to get better and better as the year goes on,” Jones said. “We’ve got some young guys. Some talented guys that just came here. They’re just getting into the system. We’ve got to find our way. We’re going to be really good toward the end of this thing.”
Archbishop Carroll’s offense was led by running back Joshua Rivera, who made some difficult yards.
While that wasn’t necessarily the case Friday night, the Lions expect to be a more balanced running and passing team than they have been the past few seasons.
On Friday it was more about passing than running with the ball.
Davion Gause (now at North Carolina) has been responsible for most of the running attack in recent years.
Now Derrek Cooper (previously at Cardinal Gibbons) and Arwin Jackson will be two of the most important running backs.
Cooper, a junior, had a 27-yard touchdown run on Friday. Jackson, a sophomore, ran for 731 yards and 10 touchdowns last year.
The running game wasn’t used much. But it’s worth noting that Bulldogs linebacker Kendrick Pembleton and cornerback Sebastian de la Pava each had impressive games.
Outstanding performances in all phases of the game are the sign of a championship-level team.
Chaminade-Madonna demonstrated this on Friday evening.
Kicker Noah Sidan, who transferred from Miami Norland, is a real weapon.
Sidan converted all of his extra point attempts and had numerous touchbacks on kickoffs.
“He’s definitely an asset for us,” Jones said. “He prevents those (potential long) kickoff returns. And he can kick. If we need to kick a potential 40-yarder or 45-yarder, he can do it. That’s another weapon. Special teams are great.”
