Don't doubt the Crusaders: 3 ways Cardinal Newman made a statement in Week 1

PAHOKEE — Anquan Boldin Stadium serves as "the Doghouse" for Pahokee football. Yet in the Week 1 battle, it was underdog Cardinal Newman that had the Blue Devils barking in a crushing 40-12 defeat.

"You did say it could be far," Newman head coach Jack Daniels chuckled.

A Twitter exchange in April resulted in Daniels and Pahokee coach Emmanuel Hendrix setting a date for the metro-rural matchup. In turn, social media buzz hyped the two's first official game of the season into arguably the game of the year.

If the Crusaders' season opener taught Palm Beach County anything, it's that when Cardinal Newman writes a check, it cashes.

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While Thursday's holding and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties hopefully won't follow, here are three things you can bank on making an impact for the Newman in the weeks ahead:

Rapid-fire offense will only get hungrier

"It's intimidating to come out here. It got a little chippy at the beginning — our guys responded the right way," Daniels said.

Newman had a slower start than last week's rout at Jupiter Christian — shooting down the Eagles 56-7 by the end of the first drive of the second half — but a 21-12 lead over Pahokee in the Muck is unlikely, no matter the program's classification.

"The odds were against us," Newman junior Josh Philostin said. "We didn’t really buy into the social media hype. In fact, it made us hungry."

About five minutes into the third quarter, senior Henry Bennett rushed into the end zone to put the Crusaders on the board.

Senior edge DeeJay Holmes Jr. and linebacker Jacorris Foreman held the scoreboard still for the Blue Devils until a lack of special teams — a nail Pahokee hammered into its own coffin — allowed Philsostin a pick-six exceeding 50 yards.

A member of the ESPN Top 300 and The Post's Next 11, Philostin described the feeling of crossing the goal line as "top tier."

Receiver Hardley Gilmore connected with Austin Simmons to cut the deficit to 14-6 before the end of the first quarter, but by two minutes into the second, the Crusaders' Nae'Shaun Montgomery had positioned himself in the end zone for an inaugural touchdown pass from quarterback Luke Warnock.

For the better half of the third quarter, it looked like Pahokee could come back. Yet, penalties continued to cost critical yardage Simmons' arm couldn't make up. Worse, the Blue Devils' defense couldn't keep up with the four-star Philostin, who caught a short pass for a catch-and-run touchdown of about 50 yards

"I’m rated as a defensive back, but I’m really an ATH," Philostin said. "I feel I can make plays at multiple positions."

Bennett answered with another touchdown in the fourth quarter, as senior Vinny Pierre doubled down with another nearly a minute after his teammate's.

"This win gives us great confidence and momentum. You can expect us to continue rolling," Philostin said.

Crusader front seven stops the run

"Lights out" pass breakups from Philostin, Pierre, Kevin Levy, Max Redmon and "D1 caliber" company awaited Pahokee receivers in the backfield, but it was Newman's defensi line that barred Super 11 athlete Jashon Benjamin from posting rushing scores.

Chris Presto, Cole Dillon, Maverick Gracio, Aiden McCurry and more stepped up to force tackles for loss and turnovers on Pahokee, creating plays that ultimately sealed the win for the Crusaders.

"They've got great players, a great quarterback, but we wanted them to pass the ball," Daniels explained. "We wanted to stop the run."

"I don't think they had positive yards running tonight and, usually, you win games when you can do that," Daniels said. "We had a great pass rush with just four guys tonight."

One of the most impressive was senior transfer Kristian Strong, who made his debut with the Crusaders on Thursday.

Strong 'fits the bill' for Newman

"He was the missing piece for us," Daniels said of Strong, who plays at tight end, but stunned most at linebacker.

Pressures. Pass breakups. Sacks. You name it. Strong can do it and he proved it with a breakout performance against the Blue Devils.

"We needed somebody else to come in that had a super smart football IQ — tough as crap — Kristian fits the bill," Daniels said.

Still, the Ivy League dream prospect felt he had to compete at "110 percent" to earn a starting spot on the roster, saying "nothing was handed to me coming in" and he had to work his way up the ranks.

A former Raider for St. Thomas Aquinas, Strong doesn't find the Fort Lauderdale powerhouse and Cardinal Newman to be all that different, calling them "very similar if you really look at them closely."

"Both have tremendous athletes and depth at the position," Strong said. "If anyone goes down, there’s someone just as good waiting to get their shot."

Despite the dog-eat-dog energy to make the cut for first string, Strong says the atmosphere at Newman is a "real" brotherhood and Daniels makes for an "unbelievable" experience as a player, calling the state-winning coach "someone that everyone wants to play for."

"There's a reason he's the winningest coach in Palm Beach County history. He brings out the best in every player and, more importantly, the team," Strong said.

"Palm Beach County should expect us to claim the sport as top dog. We work harder than anybody. We're tough, nasty and play with heart for each other."

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Don't doubt the Crusaders: 3 ways Cardinal Newman football made a statement in Week 1