WEST PALM BEACH – A breakout moment can happen at any time.

Such is the case for Cardinal Newman senior wide receiver Jason Lovingshimer, who had a game to remember this past Friday night (Oct. 2) against Doral Academy in a 28-19 win at home.

The 5-foot-11, 145-pound wideout caught three passes for 69 yards and a touchdown. His 48-yard touchdown catch from sophomore quarterback Joe Thomas helped to give the Crusaders a 14-9 lead in the first half.

To be honest, it was a close game from start to finish. And prior to Lovingshimer’s touchdown, the Crusaders were down 9-7 to the Firebirds.

This game-changing play is where Newman head coach Daniel Burack said that Lovingshimer had his breakthrough moment.

“Jason is a great kid. We have been waiting for him to have a breakout game,” Burack said about Lovingshimer, who also had six total tackles on defense. “He has big-play capability all over him. He doesn’t make many mistakes, especially on defense. Overall, he’s a great leader for us and it showed on Friday night.”

Lovingshimer provided an analysis on his 48-yard scoring catch and more.

“It was a big play in the second quarter,” Lovingshimer said. “We were down by two and it was a big motivational swing for us. And also, to go out and get a big stop on defense. We were able go into the half on top.”

With the emergence of Thomas at the quarterback position, Newman went into halftime with a 21-12 lead that would hold until the final buzzer.

“Joe Thomas has truly stepped up to the plate,” Lovingshimer said of the sophomore quarterback, who finished the game with 154 yards and two touchdown passes, the other one of which went to fellow sophomore Vinkevus Pierre in the first quarter.

“The kid has a bright future and even as a underclassman the kid is a leader,” Lovingshimer said. “He’s thrown me all my receptions this year, and I couldn’t have anything bad to say about Joe. He’s an athlete.”

Lovingshimer spoke on his selection as our MVP of Week 4.

“I appreciate it,” Lovingshimer said. “But I’m never satisfied. I have to keep working on the field and in the film room…Honestly I’m happy we just never stopped fighting. Coach [Burack] told us at the beginning on the week to attack first and don’t stop attacking. And we did a great job as a team playing together and fighting all the way until that last whistle.”