FORT LAUDERDALE — Cardinal Gibbons junior defensive end Justus Del Pino broke through and blocked his second field goal attempt of the night by Miami Killian, this one from 33 yards out with 13 seconds remaining, as host Cardinal Gibbons escaped with a 38-35 victory over the Cougars in a 2A regional semifinal football game.
“I blocked it with my left arm,” said Del Pino, who was a force all night. In addition to two blocked field goals, the 6-foot, 3-inch, 240-pounder finished with four tackles, four quarterback hurries and three deflected passes.
Cardinal Gibbons will play at Miami’s Immaculata La Salle on Friday in the regional final at 7:30 p.m.
Earlier in the game, Del Pino blocked a 34-yard attempt by Ortiz, and senior teammate Jaylon Ammons blocked a punt attempt by Ortiz that led to senior Gary Hadley Jr.’s second touchdown of the first half, which gave the Chiefs (9-3) a 21-6 lead with 8:12 to go in the half.
Hadley capped off a 75-yard drive with a 4-yard scoring toss from senior quarterback Jayden Torres. He also scored on a 15-yard run.
“I think I did a really good job getting to the quarterback and pass rushing,” Del Pino added. “This is probably one of my favorite games, especially coming down to the end. It was really tight, but we were able to pull it out. We definitely shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times, but we were able to prevail.”
Cardinal Gibbons took the opening kickoff and drove 57 yards in nine plays, capped by a 13-yard TD pass from Torres to Robert Perham. It took Killian (8-3) just one play to answer as quarterback Kymani Corbett pitched the ball to wide receiver Anton Smith on a reverse, who sprinted right and then found Willie Scott for a 65-yard score. The extra point was blocked, and the Chiefs led 7-6.
Cardinal Gibbons took the ensuing kickoff and went 75 yards for paydirt as Hadley scored the first of his two touchdowns to extend the lead to 14-6. Del Pino blocked the first field goal, and Cardinal Gibbons stretched the lead to 21-6 as Hadley caught a 4-yard TD from Torres.
With the Chiefs seemingly in control, a series of three turnovers in five plays by both teams enabled the visiting Cougars to get back into the game. Back-to-back pick-6s by Killian‘s Smith 47 seconds apart at the end of the first half enabled Killian to close to within 21-20. Smith scored on interception returns of 57 and 53 yards.
“No. 1 (Smith) is a helluva football player,” DuBuc said. “I don’t care how big he is (5 feet, 7 inches and 150 pounds). That dude is fast, electric, and he is instinctual. He made two really good plays that put them back in the game, but that’s why you play the game. That was probably the best game they had played all year.
“The team is 9-3 and we are better than we were last year,” he continued. “We are going to play a game next week, and God blessed us to do that. The coaches and the players have helped me win 99, and we’ll go and shoot for the century next week.”
Cardinal Gibbons stretched the lead to 28-20 on a 29-yard TD run by Jeremy Douglas midway through the third quarter before Killian tied the game on an 85-yard scoring play from Corbett to Willie Scott. Corbett hit Kayron Bryant for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 28-28.
Dominic Celli put the Chiefs back up 31-28 with 3:34 left in the third; however, the Cougars took their first lead of the game on their next series as Corbett connected with Bryant on a 65-yard catch and run for a 35-31 advantage with 2:37 to go in the third.
Douglas, who finished the game with 18 carries for 156 yards, scored on a 1-yard plunge with 8:53 left in the contest to give the Chiefs the lead for good.
“At halftime, we said we didn’t want to let the coaches down, we just had to come out and fight,” said Douglas, who helped Cardinal Gibbons run for 330 yards. Teammate Donte Findeson added 141 yards on 11 carries before leaving for good early in the third quarter with cramps.
“We do everything in practice, so nothing happens in a game that we haven’t done in practice,” Douglas said. “There is nothing new to us. This is really big, but next week we have to do what we have to do to keep going and win a state championship.”
Cardinal Gibbons tried to salt the game away with five minutes remaining, going for it on a fourth and one from the Cougars’ 27, but Torres was stuffed on the play, giving Killian one last chance. They drove from their 27 to the Chiefs’ 17, where the drive stalled, and on fourth down, they opted for the field goal, and Del Pino put an end to the comeback.
Killian’s Corbett was 18 for 35 for 335 yards, while Smith had the two pick-6s, a 65-yard TD pass, and five catches for 90 yards. Scott had nine catches for 228 yards.
