Cardinal Newman debuts new quarterback, quick-strike offense in preseason win

Cardinal Newman High School football coach Jack Daniels knew he had the makings of an explosive offense. All he needed was someone to light the fuse.

Enter Luke Warnock.

The junior quarterback, who transferred from state champion Fort Lauderdale-Cardinal Gibbons in January, was nearly flawless Friday night in leading the Crusaders to a 63-7 preseason victory over visiting Jupiter Christian.

Cardinal Newman had four possessions in the first quarter. Talk about a quick-strike offense: four plays, touchdown; two plays, touchdown; two plays, touchdown; four plays, touchdown. Throw in a defensive score on a fumble return and it was 35-0 before the Eagles knew what hit them.

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Warnock came in for one more possession to start the second half, which was played with a running clock. He led yet another touchdown drive, this one taking five plays, to make it 56-7. He finished 7 of 10 for 140 yards and a touchdown.

"I just came in and did what I had to do," Warnock said. "This feels fantastic. ... We've got an exciting year ahead of us."

Daniels, a veteran coach who's not given to hyperbole, calls Warnock "a very special quarterback."

Here are three takeaways from the lopsided Kickoff Classic:

1. Spreading the wealth

In perhaps the understatement of the night, Warnock said the Crusaders "have a lot of weapons."

Start with sophomore running back Jaylin Brown, who had only three carries but scored on all of them, on runs of 7, 27 and 37 yards. Tight end/linebacker Chris Presto scored on offense (30-yard reception) and defense (23-yard fumble return). Josh Philostin returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score.

Henry Bennett and Vinkevus Pierre also had rushing touchdowns, and Nae'shaun Montgomery caught a TD pass from backup quarterback Cam Kimbrell.

"We have really good skill players," Daniels said. "We have six receivers I consider Division I players."

The Crusaders' dominance wasn't limited to the offense. The Eagles had only one run of more than 2 yards and their quarterbacks, who spent much of the night running for their lives, completed only nine of 34 passes.

"I think they knew they would have problems blocking our guys," Daniels said. "Heck, we have problems blocking our guys (in practice)."

2. Another big step?

Last season, Daniels' first at Cardinal Newman, the Crusaders finished 9-4 and advanced to the regional final for the first time in 22 years. With more depth at nearly every position, they may be positioned for an even deeper playoff run.

That would be familiar territory for Daniels, who won two state championships during a long tenure at Dwyer.

But while Daniels conceded that Jupiter Christian was "overmatched," his next opponent likely won't be. The Crusaders open the regular season Thursday night at Pahokee, one of the county's top teams.

"We've got a bunch of stuff to correct," Daniels said, mostly referring to 100-plus yards in penalties. "We need to play a clean game. Pahokee has a really good football team."

Under the state's new classification system, the Crusaders are in Class 1M-District 5, along with Benjamin and SLAM (Sports Leadership and Management). SLAM is playing its first full varsity season, so Cardinal Newman's game at Benjamin on Sept. 9 will be a de facto district championship game.

But Daniels, like all coaches, doesn't want to look ahead.

3. Tough lesson for Eagles

Jupiter Christian coach Baz Alfred said before the game that he had "nothing to lose" by scheduling a powerhouse for the Kickoff Classic.

After the 56-point loss, he hadn't changed his position.

"I'll schedule them again next year if they'll schedule us," he said. "That's just how I feel about it. You want to see where your program's going."

Alfred said the Crusaders "came right out and hit us right in the mouth, and we weren't prepared for it."

The Eagles step back into their own class next week, opening the regular season at Vero Beach-St. Edward's. As an independent, the Eagles are not eligible for the state playoffs, but they'll compete in the Sunshine State Athletic Conference.

And after a 7-2 season in 2021, Alfred expects his team to be in the mix for an SSAC title.

"We've got a lot of things we can take from this game," he said. "We'll build on it and go back to work Monday."

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Cardinal Newman debuts new quarterback Luke Warnock