3A CHAMPIONSHIP – Trinity Christian Stops Chaminade

<strong>TALLAHASSEE –</strong> All season long, Jacksonville Trinity Christian had played hard and have come up on the winning end. On Wednesday night, the Conquerors came into the 3A state title game against three-time defending state champion Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna as an underdog. <img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-85222" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/12/Tallahassee2020-XXXX-9-300x187.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="187" /> As fans watched on a cool misty, foggy evening, Trinity Christian (11-1) came back from a 16-point deficit to beat Chaminade-Madonna, 25-22. For both coaches – <strong>Verlon Dorminey</strong> from Trinity Christian and <strong>Dameon Jones</strong>, this was indeed a year to remember. The Lions reached this game five straight years – and with a lot of young talent – this could very well be the match up we see next season as well. The Lions took a quick 2-0 lead when the Conquerors snapped the ball over the punter’s head at the 8:40 mark of the first quarter. When University of Miami signee <strong>Thad Franklin</strong> took it in from the 2 with 2:35 left in the opening quarter, Chaminade-Madonna took a 9-0 lead. Defensive standouts for the Lions included <strong>Jeremiah McGill</strong> (6 tackles), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="32895" first="Allan" last="Haye"] Jr.</strong> (6 tackles), <strong>Jordan Lynch, Kalunj Matthews</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50288" first="Dylan" last="Reid"]</strong> and <strong>Curtis Janvier</strong>. Trinity Christian defensive standouts were <strong>Lucius Lattimore</strong> (12 tackles), <strong>Deon Briggs</strong> (9 tackles) and <strong>Caden Morrell </strong>(9 tackled).and <strong>Thomas Fryer</strong> (8 tackles). When Reid stripped the ball and took it in from 51 yards out the Lions had switched momentum with 1:49 left in the first half and a 16-0 lead. Trinity Christian finally got on the scoreboard with 8:43 left in the third quarter when <strong>Kaleb Killian</strong> took it in from the 2 – as the Conquerors came out and made it 16-7 on the very first drive of the second half. As the final quarter started, Trinity Christian inched closer when they drove inside the Lions’ five and came away with a 19-yard field to cut the lead to 16-10 with 10:33 left on field goal by <strong>Caleb Stevenson</strong>. When <strong>Ja’Cory Jordan</strong> found University of Florida-bound <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="32639" first="Marcus" last="Burke"]</strong>, the Conquerors had the Lions’ attention. They led for the first time, 17-16. With that streak on the line, this Chaminade-Madonna team had no quit. <strong>Thad Franklin’s</strong> 1 yard run put the Lions back on top, but the state champs could not hold on – leaving a state championship game for the first time in four years without the top trophy. Trinity Christian would not be denied – as they took back the title when Jordan hit Burke for the game-winning score. <strong><em>You Can Contact Larry Blustein with prospect or team information at: <a href="mailto:Foridakids1@aol.com">Foridakids1@aol.com</a>. We are also on Social Media on @PrepRedzonefl.</em></strong>