Broward County vs. The USA: Chaminade-Madonna's offense shines against St. John's

FORT LAUDERDALE — Chaminade-Madonna quarterback Cedrick Bailey is in the unenviable position of possibly having too many weapons around.

The junior orchestrated a Lions attack that scored 35 points in less than three quarters and held on to beat a resilient St. John's (D.C.) 35-28 at St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturday night.

"It's great to be on this offense," Bailey said. "We have so many weapons, so many people to help us out."

Chaminade has two of the premier junior receivers in the nation in Jeremiah Smith and Joshisa Trader as well as junior running back Davion Gause and seniors receivers Edwin Joseph and Duane Thomas. Trader, Smith and Joseph all caught touchdowns on Saturday.

"It's kind of hard," Bailey said with a smile. "Because you have to know who to get the ball to. If I get the ball to this person, I don't know how this one's going to feel.

"I want everybody to touch the ball. That's just me."

Notes

Smith caught the opening score of the game on Chaminade's first drive. The 6-foot-2 Smith is considered one of the top players in the class of 2024 regardless of position. His offers include Miami, Ohio State, Alabama and USC.

Trader caught a touchdown and also threw a long pass to set up a score. Trader said he's been communicating a lot with Miami, Georgia, Texas A&M and Tennessee. He plans to attend Miami's game at Texas A&M on Sept. 17.

Junior defensive back Zaquan Smith had an another strong game in multiple phases. He recorded several tackles, broke up at least one pass and blocked a punt in the first half.

American Heritage 56, Los Alamitos (CA) 27

You know it's special when Mark Fletcher Jr. thinks he had the best game of his life. But that's exactly what happened Saturday.

The Plantation-American Heritage senior running back, ranked No. 30 on the USA Today Florida Network top 100, rushed for 224 yards and two touchdowns as the Patriots routed Los Alamitos (California) 56-27 at St. Thomas Aquinas.

"I think so," Fletcher said when asked if it was his best game. "I think I just had a great game today. I said before the game I'm going to go for 200. That was all God's work right there. I want to thank him and my O-line.

"No one wanted to tackle me. I felt it. Most definitely."

The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Ohio State commit was dominant from the start and scored the opening two touchdowns in the first quarter. Fletcher had several strong runs in the first half that also set up other Heritage scores.

Fletcher committed to Ohio State in April and has remained solid since then. He mentioned only one other team when asked about his recruiting Saturday.

"You know hometown Miami is still there but I'm rocking with Ohio State right now."

Fletcher plans to visit Ohio State when the Buckeyes host Notre Dame on Sept. 3. He does not have any other visits planned right now.

Notes

Heritage senior cornerback Damari Brown (No. 46 USA Today Florida Network top 100) had a strong game with one interception and multiple pass break ups. Brown said he plans to take an official visit to Miami in September and possibly Florida State in October. He took visits to Alabama and Clemson in June.

Patriots wide receiver Brandon Inniss (No. 4 USA Today Florida Network top 100) caught a touchdown pass from Blake Murphy on Saturday. Inniss also is committed to Ohio State.

Murphy had a pair of touchdown runs against Los Alamitos. The senior is committed to Louisiana-Monroe.

St. Thomas Aquinas 48, St. Joseph's (Pa.) 37

Jordan Lyle didn’t get to play in the St. Thomas Aquinas’ season-opening nationally televised game last fall.

He made up for it Saturday.

The junior running back rushed for 138 yards and three touchdowns as the Raiders beat St. Joseph’s (Pennsylvania) 48-37 early Saturday afternoon. The Aquinas vs. St. Joseph’s is one of three Broward County vs. The USA games scheduled for Saturday.

Lyle, who is being recruited by Georgia, Michigan State, Penn State and others, scoring his first touchdown on the opening drive of the game with a highlight reel effort. Lyle was initially hit near the 8-yard line and started to fall to the ground but managed to keep his balance and get into the end zone.

Lyle added two more scores in the second half — a 65-yard run in the third quarter and a short run in the fourth quarter.

Notes

TeKai Kirby, the son of former NFL running back Terry Kirby, caught a 55-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder is committed to Virginia.

Aquinas senior defensive tackle Jason Hammond (Iowa State commit) had multiple sacks in the first half.

Raiders junior wide receiver Chance Robinson caught a couple passes in the first quarter, including a long grab along the St. Joseph’s sideline to set up an Aquinas touchdown. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Robinson has offers from Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Michigan State, Ole Miss and others.

Aquinas running back Gemari Sands scored an imprssive receiving touchdown in the first half, breaking multiple tackles. Sands has a handful of offers.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Chaminade-Madonna's offense shines against St. John's