3 takeaways from Chaminade-Madonna's 1A state title win over Clearwater Central Catholic

The Lions notched the program's ninth state championship in program history

Robson Lopes

MIAMI, FLORIDA- They say third time is the charm.

That was the hope for Clearwater Central Catholic when they rolled into Pitbull Stadium for a Wednesday night date with Chaminade-Madonna, the third straight year the two programs have met at the end.

It was the same result as the previous two meetings: A dominating Chaminade-Madonna victory.

The Lions leaned on an opportunistic defense, timely offense and never looked back to defeat the Marauders, 42-7, for the Class 1A state championship. It gave the program its ninth state crown and one that some at the very beginning of the season were starting to doubt.

High School On SI was on hand for the contest and gives you three takeaways from the game.

1. Chaminade-Madonna's 13th straight win was arguably it's finest

Robson Looes

An 0-2 start after losses to St. John Bosco (California) and Blanche Ely made it seem like the sky was falling at Chaminade-Madonna. Instead, the Lions went on to win 12 straight games en route to the Class 1A title game rematch with CCC and they dominated like they have all throughout the postseason. Unmatched and basically uncontested for the most part, this program has shown time and time again why they're not just one of the best in the Sunshine State, but in the country. Wednesday night was just another coronation ceremony for the Lions in their quest to add another piece of hardware to the trophy case.

2. The Lions' defense shined on the night

Angelo Smith of Chaminade-Madonna tackles Keo Jenkins of Clearwater Central Catholic. / Robson Lopes

One thing mostly everyone knows about Chaminade-Madonna over the years is they like to play fast offensively. Surprisingly, though, it wouldn't be the play of Chaminade-Madonna's offense that would be featured on the night. Nope. It would be the Lions' defense that rose to the occasion on multiple Marauders' drives that could've ended with points, but instead concluded with turnovers. Chattanooga signee Kelly SeJour Jr. had himself a big night, recovering a fumble and picking off a pass in the first half. With the defense playing the way they did, the offense didn't have to have their best game. Tyler Chance would take the lead at quarterback, completing 14-of-19 passes for 175 yards and three touchdowns.

3. Not having Jershaun Newton definitely hurt any chance CCC had

Robson Lopes

One of the finest high school football careers of any player to ever come out of Pinellas County ended on Wednesday night, but the problem was he wasn't even able to take the field for it. CCC's Jershaun Newton was deemed unable to participate in the Class 1A title game due to an injury he sustained in the Marauders' state semifinal win over Cardinal Newman. Without Newton, CCC struggled to find the endzone despite having success moving the ball. Sophomore Khayse Barrett (12 carries, 120 yards) was at the controls and has played well through the playoffs, but was no match via the passing game going up against a very experienced Chaminade-Madonna defense. The Marauders' defensively played admirably, but with three turnovers made in the first half and a couple more in the latter two quarters, there was no coming back from that for Chris Harvey's group.

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi