High School

Chaminade-Madonna Rallies Past American Heritage in the Fourth Quarter

Led by three Derrek Cooper's three touchdowns, the Lions claim their fourth straight win over the Patriots

Harry Lichtman

Stars Dia Bell (left) of American Heritage and Jasen Lopez on Chaminade-Madonna will lead their teams into battle on Friday as the rivalry between the two South Florida powers resumes.
Stars Dia Bell (left) of American Heritage and Jasen Lopez on Chaminade-Madonna will lead their teams into battle on Friday as the rivalry between the two South Florida powers resumes. / Robson Lopes

Two of the top high school football teams in Florida kept it competitive throughout the night. But Chaminade-Madonna was able to come from behind after trailing 24-14 for their fourth straight victory over American Heritage dating back to 2022.

Texas commit Derrek Cooper stepped up for the Lions with three touchdowns on the night, while Malik Leonard connected with Jasen Lopez for the go-ahead score.

Fellow Texas commit and All-American quarterback Dia Bell did his best to keep the Patriots in the game, as he threw three touchdown passes, two of which were caught by Jeffar Jean-Noel.

Preview

Two of the Sunshine State's best will square off on Friday night as American Heritage hosts Chaminade-Madonna in a battle of Florida high school football powers.

American Heritage enters the week 1-0 and ranked No. 2 in the Florida High School Football Top 25 State Rankings after a comeback win over St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia) and then a bye week.

Chaminade-Madonna clocks in at No. 16 and is currently 1-1, as the Lions got blown out by St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) but then beat McArthur.

The Lions have won the last three times the two teams have met, but the Patriots are looking to remain undefeated early in the season. For Chaminade, they look to re-stablish themselves after starting the season ranked nationally in the top 10 in the country.

Players to Watch

Chaminade-Madonna Lions

  • Derrek Cooper - RB: A 6'1, 4-star senior who is committed to Texas
  • Tromon Isaac Jr. - WR: A 4-star sophomore with game-changing speed
  • Denairius Gray - WR: A 3-star senior and Kentucky commit

American Heritage Patriots

  • Dia Bell - QB: An All-American senior who is widely considered the top quarterback in the country. He committed to Texas after receiving offers from UCF, Texas A&M, Georgia, and Georgia Tech.
  • Jonathan Bueno Jr. - RB: A 3-star junior who is 5'10, 200 pounds
  • Jamar Denson - WR: A 3-star senior and Troy commit

Pick'em Challenge

Let us know who you think will win by trying your hand at our Pick 'Em challenge.

Live Updates

(Follow here for live updates once the game gets underway. Refresh this page repeatedly to get the latest updates)

1

2

3

4

F

Chaminade-Madonna

0

6

8

14

28

American Heritage

7

7

10

0

24

1st Quarter

- Lions take the opening kickoff to their own 30 to start. A facemask penalty on the Patriots moves them closer to the opponents' 45. However, the Lions go three and out and have to punt at 10:19.

Patriots begin their first drive at their own 35. Texas commit and All-American QB Dia Bell completes an 11-yard pass to Jeffar Jean-Noel for the first down. They barely make it over midfield but go three and out and punt with 8:37 remaining.

Lions start at their own 20. They are unable to get the offense moving and are forced to punt.

Patriots begin at their own 25 with 7:01 on the clock. Bell shows his mobility and connects with Jeon-noel to keep the chains moving. Bell then connects with Troy commit Jamar Denson on a 13-yard play to get another first down in Lions territory.

On 3rd and 13 at the 36, Bell keeps it himself for a nice run close to a first down. A defensive penalty moves the Patriots inside the red zone for a first down.

On 1st and 10 from the 17, Denson takes a swing pass from Bell and scores on a 17-yard touchdown, but it's called back due to an offensive penalty.

Bell then fires into the end zone and connects with Jean-Noel for a 21-yard touchdown pass. Extra point good with 2:01 left in the first quarter.

TOUCHDOWN: American Heritage 7, Chaminade-Madonna 0, 2:01 left in 1st.

Ky'marlei Brown then lays out a big hit on the ensuing kickoff as the Lions begin at their own 30. They move closer to midfield but go three and out.

Patriots begin at their own 19. Clock runs out.

End of 1st: American Heritage 7, Chaminade-Madonna 0

2nd Quarter

- Bell gets sacked on 3rd down and the Patriots are forced to punt.

Lions begin at their opponents' 46 with 11:08 on the clock. Running back Arwin Jackson shows his speed with some nice runs. Texas commit Derrek Cooper scampers into the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown run. But the extra point is blocked with 8:31 left in the half.

TOUCHDOWN: American Heritage 7, Chaminade-Madonna 6, 8:31 left in 2nd.

Patriots begin at their own 20. On 2nd and 12 from the 30, Bell fires a deep pass to Denson as he sheds a couple tacklers to race down the sideline to the end zone for a 70-yard touchdown. Extra point good with 6:48 left in the half.

TOUCHDOWN: American Heritage 14, Chaminade-Madonna 6, 6:48 left in 2nd.

Tromon Isaac Jr. takes the ensuing kickoff for a big return all the way to the 30. But a penalty calls it back as the Lions begin at their own 30.

On the first play of the drive, Lee Prince Jr. takes the handoff and scampers down the sideline for a 70-yard touchdown. But it's negated by an offensive holding call. Unable to answer after those penalties, the Lions punt with 4:42 left.

Patriots begin at their own 9. The Lions defense stalls them as they go three and out. Punt.

Lions begin at their opponents' 38. They go for it on 4th and 4, but Tyler Chance's intended pass for Isaac is incomplete. Turnover on downs.

Patriots take over at their own 32 with 1:37 left. The last play of the half is a punt.

End of 2nd, American Heritage 14, Chaminade-Madonna 6

3rd Quarter

- The Patriots begin the opening second half drive at their own 20. Bell connects with Jean-Noel on a few passes for first downs. A personal foul call on the defense moves them closer to the Lions' 21.

Holding call moves the Patriots back 10 yards. Johnathan Matei makes a 36-yard field goal with 8:13 left.

FIELD GOAL: American Heritage 17, Chaminade-Madonna 6, 8:13 left in 3rd.

Lions take the ensuing kickoff to their own 38. Cooper gets a big run for a first down at their opponents' 43.

A defensive penalty moves the Lions closer to the red zone. Cooper takes a direct snap up the middle for the six-yard touchdown run. Two-point conversion good with 4:57 left.

TOUCHDOWN: American Heritage 17, Chaminade-Madonna 14, 4:57 left in 3rd

Patriots begin the ensuing drive at their own 20. Bell gets sacked on 2nd down. Jean-Noel gets injured and heads towards the sideline.

Big play: Bell fires another deep pass to Denson for a first down at the Lions' 20. Timeout called.

Another Bell pass to Denson moves them closer to the end zone. This sets up a one-yard touchdown pass from Bell to Jeon-Noel. Extra point good with 45 seconds left.

TOUCHDOWN: American Heritage 24, Chaminade-Madonna 14, 0:45 left in 3rd.

Lions begin the ensuing drive at their own 30. Leonard fires deep to Kentucky commit Deneirius Gray for a first down. A personal foul call moves them closer to the opponents' 22. Clock runs out.

End of 3rd: American Heritage 24, Chaminade-Madonna 14

4th Quarter

- Cooper takes another direct snap for his third touchdown from six yards out. Extra point good with 11:57 left in regulation.

TOUCHDOWN: American Heritage 24, Chaminade-Madonna 21, 11:57 left in 4th.

Patriots begin from their own 20. On 3rd down, Bell connects with Michael Stringer for the first down. Jonathan Bueno Jr. gets a big 27-yard run, as a facemask penalty moves them 15 yards deeper into Lions territory.

Bell keeps it himself and scrambles all the way to the one-yard-line. Injury timeout. Bueno gets stuffed at the goal line on three scoring opportunities. On 4th and goal, Bell tries to scramble into the end zone but gets tackled behind the line of scrimmage. Turnover on downs with 7:59 left.

Lions take over at their own 4. On 1st and 10, Leonard completes a pass to Jasen Lopez for the first down at the 29. Leonard connects with Lopez again for a first down near midfield. Leonard then finds Isaac for another first down.

Leonard throws a slant pass to Lopez in the end zone for the go-ahead 10-yard touchdown. Extra point good with 2:42 left in the game.

TOUCHDOWN: Chaminade-Madonna 28, American Heritage 24, 2:42 left in 4th.

Patriots get the ball and move closer into Lions territory. Timeout with 1:20 left.

On 2nd and 7 at the opponents' 37, Bell keeps it himself and gets a nice run up to the 18.

Bell gets sacked on 3rd down with one last chance coming. On 4th and long, Bell's pass to the end zone is incomplete. Turnover on downs with 29 seconds left.

Lions get the ball and take a knee to end the game.

FINAL: Chaminade-Madonna 28, American Heritage 24

RECAP

Two of the top high school football teams in Florida kept it competitive throughout the night. But Chaminade-Madonna was able to come from behind after trailing 24-14 for their fourth straight victory over American Heritage dating back to 2022.

Texas commit Derrek Cooper stepped up for the Lions with three touchdowns on the night, while Malik Leonard connected with Jasen Lopez for the go-ahead score.

Fellow Texas commit and All-American quarterback Dia Bell did his best to keep the Patriots in the game, as he threw three touchdown passes, two of which were caught by Jeffar Jean-Noel.

Chaminade-Madonna now improves to 2-1 while American Heritage falls to 1-1.

Published |Modified
Harry Lichtman
HARRY LICHTMAN

Harry Lichtman is a sports reporter based in Montgomery County, MD and the DC area. He also writes for Capitals Outsider and LastWordOnSports, and previously wrote for MLB Report, The Sports Pulse, the Baltimore Jewish Times, the Montgomery County Sentinel, and The Bottom Line newspaper at Frostburg State University. In 2020, Harry won an MDDC Press award for a story about former high school lacrosse head coach Jeff Fritz. Harry has been writing since 2016.

Home/Florida