WEST PALM BEACH – For the second time in a row, the Cardinal Newman Crusaders has taken home our Team of the Week honor.
While there were different players who stepped up this time, the collective energy and family-type bond remained the same in last week’s 25-12 home win over St. John Paul II.
With a three-game winning streak in tow, Cardinal Newman (No. 2; Palm Beach County private school team rankings) is now 3-1 for the season.
This group has played like the No. 1 private school in Palm Beach County over the past three weeks. However, they cannot actually claim the top spot right now because American Heritage-Delray Beach (1-1) has a tougher schedule and also has not lost since Week 1 of the regular season.
In the grand scheme of things, it does not matter. The reasoning for that was on full display in the Crusaders 13-point win over the Eagles.
After a failed field goal try by St. John Paul II – there would be three total misses in the game from the opposition – Cardinal Newman marched down the field and took a 6-0 lead, thanks to a touchdown run by senior Aaron LaMartiniere (2-yarder at 7:27 mark).
And then after a slew of turnovers committed by both teams – mostly fumbles lost – Newman got its act together, as sophomore quarterback Joe Thomas found senior Keith Golden Jr. in the end zone for a 12-0 lead with 2:44 left in the first half.
“Keith and the rest of our receivers have been doing a great job recently on finding ways to get open,” Thomas said. “And big plays like that have been what has led us to success the last few games. It just gets the energy going.”
Newman saw its lead cut in half near the end of the second quarter, as St. John Paul II’s Jaylen Leggett found the end zone with 14 second left. The score was now 12-6, a lead that the home team would never relinquish.
Shortly after halftime, Cardinal Newman extended its lead to 19-6 off a missed handoff by St. John Paul II that resulted in a fumble recovery in the end zone. This occurred at the 11:49 mark of the third quarter.
No more significant action took place until the middle portion of the fourth quarter, when MVP of Week 5 and senior Luigi de Cardenas put the game away for good.
The Crusaders senior linebacker and running back was a force to be reckoned with in the red zone, as he gashed the Eagles defense for chunks of yardage on multiple runs. He had a game-icing 2-yard touchdown run on offense at the 6:12 mark of the fourth quarter.
Four of the Crusaders standout’s carries on that pivotal drive were inside the opposition’s 30-yard line as he ultimately got his team a 25-6 lead over the Eagles.
“Luigi definitely had a heck of a game, which was well deserved,” Thomas said. “He’s one of the hardest workers on our team and it definitely showed on Friday.”
Thomas on Cardinal Newman’s win over St. John Paul II:
“It feels great, but we have to keep taking it week by week and we can’t get satisfied,” Thomas said. “We have to keep giving it all day in and day out.”
Cardinal Newman’s next game is on the road against Clewiston. It is set for Friday, Oct. 16 with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
“We have to just play our game and have the least amount of mental errors as possible,” Thomas said. “We’re just focusing on attacking our opponents each week, no matter who it is.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Keith Forde
