This off-season, two of Palm Beach County’s brightest stars, 4-Star LB Adam Balogoun-ali (Auburn commit) and 3-Star RB Phoenix Donghia (James Madison commit) shocked the system of South Florida by announcing they were taking their talents to Cardinal Newman for their senior seasons. Moves like this shake the foundation of the area, but placing these two studs on an already dominant Cardinal Newman squad immediately thrusts the Crusaders into State Title contention. The addition of Adam Balogoun-ali and Phoenix Donghia formed a big three with 4-Star QB Jyron Hughley that has potential to terrorize South Florida high school football.
While two guys may be new to the program, Adam, Phoenix and Jyron have quite the history. From youth ball teammates to district rivals, there’s been plenty of football played between this friend group.
Last night, Balogoun-ali and Donghia made their official debut in Crusader gold, and they did NOT disappoint, dominating Boynton Beach 41-6. These three Crusaders were integral parts to the blowout win, as they recorded the following individual stat lines:
QB Jyron Hughley: 7/8, 125 Yards, 1 Passing TD, 8 Rushes 110 Yards and 2 Rushing TD
RB Phoenix Donghia: 117 Yards, 1 Rushing TD
LB Adam Balogoun-ali: 8 Tackles, 3 TFL, 2 INT, 1 INT Return TD
When asked about the opportunity to finally get the pads on and play together, here’s what all three had to say:
“It felt great playing with them boys because Phoenix and I played little league pop warner together. Now we’re back together for our senior year, it’s like Derrick Henry and Lamar in the backfield, who’s stopping that!” Hughley said with a smile. “As for Adam, just watching him play is amazing- kid flys around to the ball, plays with heart. I’m just happy I don’t have to play against him again, I got tired of beating him up every year.“
“It really feeds into our expectations of what this team could be and how good we have the ability to become. Playing with Phoenix since pop warner, I know how much of a problem he is alone. Mix that with the playmaking ability Jyron has, and it’s the biggest problem in Florida. You can’t stop them.” Adam stated. “It’s still kind of crazy playing at Newman, feels like I was just playing Jyron for the first time, giving him hang time”
“It feels great to open up with such a dominant win, it was a great way to show our strengths while finding the things we can work on ahead of the regular season.” Donghia shared. “It was great to finally reunite with Snow {Jyron}, and I’ve been playing with Adam since little league. Me and snow in the backfield nobody’s going to stop us!!”
Incase these quotes weren’t any indication: this is a fun group of guys. With the history these three have, it’s no secret the chemistry is there. However, it’s not all smiles and laughs, because all three share one common goal: Get to that State Title game.
Newman’s been on the cusp of the Title for years now, but unfortunately no team has made the crusade to Pitbull Stadium. Historically, there’s been one hinderance to stand in the way of the Crusaders on their quest to the Championship- the Chaminade Madonna Lions. Chaminade has dominated the FHSAA 1A Division, earning State rings on the yearly. This year, Cardinal Newman’s three headed leadership council wants to make sure that they don’t go out with the same fate as previous graduating classes.
“I think we just need to understand that our goal to win States isn’t just going to happen. We have to get in and continue to work and better ourselves every day. We’re on the right path and we have nothing but talent on our team, but we have to stay humble, work and keep continuing forward building on what we have”– Adam Balogoun-ali
The Cardinal Newman Crusaders head into the first regular season with all the momentum in their favor. As we move into week 1, Cardinal Newman faces a tough test right out the gate, as they head on the road next Thursday night to face a really good John Carroll team.
Cover Photo Credits: Kileigh Gagnon, NewEraPrep
