WEST PALM BEACH — Two weapons are better than one.
Cardinal Newman High's lethal 1-2 punch of quarterback Jyron Hughley and running back Phoenix Donghia accounted for six touchdowns to lead the Crusaders to a 45-14 victory over Community School of Naples in a Region 3-1A semifinal game on Nov. 21.
Their combined effort was more than enough to offset the Seahawks' sensational running back, Jayvian Tanelus, who carried 25 times for 243 yards to surpass the 2,000-yard mark for the season.
Cardinal Newman (9-3) eliminated Community School (8-3) from the playoffs for the second year in a row. The second-seeded Crusaders will travel to top-seeded St. Petersburg Catholic (12-0) for the regional final on Nov. 28.
Hughley and Donghia each rushed for more than 100 yards. Hughley scored on runs of 13 and 15 yards in the second quarter and 28 yards in the third. Donghia scored from 6 yards out in the first quarter and 19 yards out in the third.
The two also collaborated on a 56-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. Technically it was a pass, because Hughley took a shotgun snap and flipped the ball forward to Donghia, who was in motion. But Donghia did all the work, finding a hole on the left side and outracing the secondary to give the Crusaders a 38-14 lead.
"There's a bond there," Newman coach Jack Daniels said of his quarterback/running back duo. "There's no selfishness between the two; they want what's best for the team. Those two together make us dynamic on offense."
As lopsided as the final score was, Community School made a game of it for a half.
The Crusaders built a 20-0 lead before the Seahawks finally put together a sustained drive, moving 80 yards in seven plays. On fourth-and-1, Tanelus broke through the line and ran 23 yards for a touchdown, his 31st of the season.
On the next series, Seahawks defensive lineman Joshua Loizon intercepted a tipped pass at the Crusaders' 27. Two plays later, quarterback Cade DiLoreto tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Fletcher Kean with 13.8 seconds left in the half to make it 20-14.
With the Seahawks due to receive the second-half kickoff, it appeared momentum was swinging their way.
"We definitely had a close talk in the locker room," Crusaders linebacker Adam Balogoun-Ali said. "We all knew that we weren't playing our best and we all knew that this game should not be so close."
The opening drive of the second half was pivotal. Community School was called for a false start on the first play — a trend in this game — and then lost 4 yards in three plays. After a short punt, Cardinal Newman put together a 43-yard drive ending with Hughley's third TD.
"We had a lot of penalties tonight that killed drives for our offense," Community School coach Jonah Dubinski said. "Second and 15, third and 15, those are tough downs and distances. You've got to avoid those."
Cardinal Newman outscored Community School 25-0 in the second half. The Crusaders added a defensive touchdown when freshman Ayden Elam picked off a DiLoreto pass and returned it 56 yards.
When Tanelus broke off two long runs in the final minute against the Crusaders' reserves, Daniels reinserted his starting defense for the final play from the 3-yard line. Balogoun-Ali tackled Tanelus for a 3-yard loss.
Asked about trying to devise a defense to stop Tanelus, Daniels said, "It's not fun, I can tell you that. They have a really good scheme and they do a good job. Fortunately, we got them behind the chains a lot. They had a bunch of false starts."
Dubinski, who took over the Seahawks program this season after two years as an assistant, will be sorry to see Tanelus leave for Duke after his record-breaking high school career.
"Blessed to coach him," he said. "Phenomenal young man, phenomenal student, phenomenal in the community. He's going to be missed. He left a legacy here."
Dubinski also sees better days ahead for the Seahawks.
"I'm very proud of this group," he said. "It's been an intentional building process. We took a big step as a program this season; our first half showed that. ... We've got to continue to develop as a program."
Palm Beach County high school football scoreboard
Class 7A
West Nassau 56, Spanish River 42
Class 6A
West Boca Raton 48 East Lake 7
Class 5A
McArthur 17, Atlantic 16
Class 2A
Lakewood 14, Glades Central 7
Class 1A
Cardinal Newman 45, Community School of Naples 14
Rural
Pahokee 17, Taylor County 7
SSAA
American Heritage-Delray 51, West Nassau 41
Alex Peterman is a high school sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Cardinal Newman football blows out Community School of Naples in playoffs