WEST PALM BEACH – Cardinal Newman may have one of its biggest and most significant playoff games in school history tonight (Nov. 26) at defending Class 3A state champion Chaminade-Madonna.
The kickoff for this year’s 3A – Region 4 title between the Crusaders (9-3; No. 3 seed) and the Lions (8-1; No. 1 seed) will start promptly at 7 p.m. in Hollywood.
With the potential state championship stakes in mind, a special walkthrough practice on Thanksgiving morning (Nov. 25) was held at Cardinal Newman. It featured alum from the 1970’s, 1980’s, 1990’s, 2000’s, and 2010’s.
In total, there existed current and former Cardinal Newman players at the practice that spanned at least six decades.
Cardinal Newman head coach Jack Daniels, who is in his first year at the helm
after coming out of retirement, spoke on how this concept came about.
“It was kind of a last-minute idea that someone brought up to me,” Daniels said. “This is such a great school with a great alumni and fan base. We needed to do something. We’re fortunate to be playing on Thanksgiving. There’s nothing better than having the alumni, the former players, the parents coming out to support their kids.”
Tom Craft, who played for Cardinal Newman from 1979 to 1982, spoke on this momentous occasion that happened at his stomping grounds on Thanksgiving.
“Inviting alumni out, I think, is important,” Craft said. “The school and community, we’re a very tight knit group to this day. My liefelong friends are the friends that I made here at Cardinal Newman High School…This is part of building community. It’s important for the school to continue building the facilities, the program as it gains more notoriety.”
Al Fasulo, who played for Cardinal Newman from 1982 to 1986, could not agree more.
“I miss playing football,” Fasula said. “It’s a lot of nostalgia. It brings back a lot of memories. It’s good to be involved, and coming back to watch one of these. Sometimes we get to watch on a Friday night. But coming out here on a Saturday morning, or even a Thanksgiving morning like now, it’s a great idea.”
One thing that Cardinal Newman has always been good at is highlighting its depth of diversity. It was quite evident here.
“The diversity of this football team with the African-American males, it feels like they’re embracing it,” said Travis Mitchell, who played for Cardinal Newman from 1979-1981. “There were times that you
questioned it. But it definitely looks like they’re embracing it now. It’s really nice to see.”
Marvin Dyett, who played for Cardinal Newman between 1975-1977, says that the practice of diversity was fostered when the legendary Sam Budnyk was the head coach at the West Palm Beach-based private school.
“Coach Budnyk was one of the first coaches in Palm Beach County to play a black school,” Dyett said. “It was a game against Kennedy. The other coaches asked, ‘Why would you play that game?’, and basically, he wanted his team to compete with those athletes…So coming here, it was just comfortable and it felt like family. They did a good job of keeping that down for us.”
With that said, the evolution of this proud Cardinal Newman program has been evident down through the years.
“Thankful to be here watching practice,” said Gabriel Isasi, who played for Cardinal Newman from 2007 until 2010 and is now a lawyer for the Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey, and Fronrath law firm in West Palm Beach.
“Nice to see all of the alumni out here from different eras,” Isasi continued. “We were the era that kind of went from the old to the new. We got to experience the transition…And now it’s cool to be back. It’s real nice to see these kids working the way they do.”
Going back to the present, Cardinal Newman freshman quarterback Davi Belfort envisions a great future ahead for this program. In his mind, the future starts right now.
“First of all, I want to say how grateful I am to have the amazing teammates I have, the amazing coaches I have, what Coach Jack [Daniels] and the rest of the coaching staff have built here,” Belfort said.
“It’s amazing for the first year,” Belfort continued. “As we play Chaminade, I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be an amazing game. I’m looking forward to play with the best, and that’s what we’re going to do. I love each and every one of my teammates. Without them, I couldn’t accomplish anything that I have. I love each and every one of them.”
