Chaminade-Madonna trailed Miami Carol City 14-13 with 1:22 left in the fourth quarter. All they needed for a chance at a comeback win was a stop at fourth-and-2 on their 32.
The Chiefs called a run play — their bread-and-butter all night Friday — but the Lions’ defense was quick to the ball carrier. They stuffed the run and pushed the pile back. Chaminade players and coaches celebrated, thinking they’d have one more chance to pull out the win.
The referees spotted the ball at the 30-yard line for a first down. The Chaminade staff argued to its own detriment, with unsportsmanlike conduct penalties pushing Carol City up to the Chaminade 12-yard line. It made no difference. The game was over, and the Lions lost 14-13 in Hollywood on Friday.
“Sometimes the ball don’t bounce your way,” Chaminade coach Dameon Jones said. “Everybody in the stadium knew it was short, but the referee saw something different. Guess what? You’ve got to roll with it.”
Said Carol City coach Josh Taylor: “There was forward progress. I believe that. He deserved every yard that he got.”
The Lions were in that position late in the game largely because of struggles in the trenches.
Chaminade relied heavily on junior running back and Miami commit Thad Franklin, but the standout junior managed only 86 rushing yards and one 1-yard touchdown on 24 carries — an average of only 3.6 yards per rush.
“We’ve got a couple injuries, two o-linemen didn’t play this week,” Jones said. “But no excuses, man. We should’ve went out there and handled ourselves a little bit better, man. But that’s a good football team.”
On the other sideline, Carol City managed to put together a solid running game. Senior Tywan Cash racked up about 140 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. The Chiefs racked up about 195 total rushing yards against the Lions.
Jones said despite the loss that he thinks this game will help Chaminade, the two-time reigning Class 3A state champions, get back to the state title game.
“We were 3-0 coming in, and I always tell people I like getting punched in the mouth and see if my kids are going to punch back,” Jones said. “We’re going to learn a lot from this and get better from this and, hopefully, we keep playing in December because of this.”
