Jacory Jordan hit Marcus Burke in the end zone to put their team ahead for good with 48 seconds left, and the defense held strong as the Trinity Christian Academy Conquerors defeated the three-time defending champion Lions of Chaminade-Madonna College Prep 25-22 in dramatic comeback fashion.
On 4th and 7 at the Lions’ 26 and the title on the line, Jordan faded back and found Burke on the right side of the end zone. Burke escaped tight coverage at the 2 and made a diving catch after losing his footing for the championship-winning touchdown that put the Conquerors ahead 23-22.
During a timeout, Coach Verlon Dorminey – who won his eight championship Wednesday night – called for the two-point conversion to make it a three-point margin, and the Conquerors worked the play to perfection. Jordan rolled right, handed off to Kaleb Killian, who, while running left, pulled off the double reverse to Burke. The future Florida Gator then found an open Jordan in the end zone and floated a touch pass to the now receiver Jordan for the game’s final tally.
With 48 seconds to work with and one timeout, however, Chaminade-Madonna was not finished. After a touchback, the Lions drove down field and worked the sidelines to stop the clock on each play.
Chaminade-Madonna got to the 50 for 2nd down. Quarterback Jaylon Tolbert rolled right and launched the ball into the end zone to wide receiver Edwin Joseph. Trinity cornerback Harold Stubbs knocked the ball out of Joseph’s hands for a game-saving pass defense. An intentional grounding penalty on 3rd down made it 4th and 18 at the Lions’ 42 with 8 seconds left.
Trinity junior linebacker Jonathan Goddard broke through the line, chased Tolbert down, and caught the quarterback for a game-ending sack that finished off an incredible comeback win and secured the title. It was Goddard’s eighth sack of the season and the biggest of his career.
Chaminade-Madonna got on the board with a safety just three minutes into the game. Trinity’s punt-attempt snap sailed over Caleb Stevenson’s head and rolled inside the 5. Stevenson did the right thing in kicking the ball through the back of the end zone to keep the Lions’ punt rushers from potentially scoring a touchdown or at least giving Chaminade-Madonna a 1st-and-Goal situation.
The Lions’ Thaddius Franklin extended the lead to 9-0 with two minutes left in the first quarter on a three-yard run that capped a very methodical drive.
In the second quarter, Chaminade-Madonna linebacker Dylan Reid stripped Jordan of the ball and raced 50 yards untouched into the end zone to give the Lions a 16-0 lead with under two minutes left in the half. The Conquerors answered with a drive inside the red zone, but cornerback Charles Williams intercepted a pass in the end zone with just seconds left to stop the Conquerors from scoring.
Trinity, though, rested, regrouped, refocused, and realigned during the intermission. With Christian Ellis now running and blocking in the backfield with Killian, the Conquerors went 80 yards on the opening drive of the second half. Killian took the ball in from two yards out on a cut around the right end to make the score 16-7. No further scoring happened in the third quarter.
Two minutes into the fourth, Trinity drove again well into the red zone. This time, though, the Lions’ massive defenders kept the Conquerors out of the end zone. Stevenson, however, connected on a 19-yard field goal from the left hash mark to make it a six-point game at 16-10.
Approximately three minutes later, Jordan launched a 50-yard bomb to Burke, who earlier in the day signed his letter of intent for the University of Florida. Burke caught the ball at the 10 up against the right sideline and cruised into the end zone to tie the game. Stevenson’s extra point gave Trinity its first lead of the night at 17-16.
Chaminade-Madonna answered right back with another methodical drive and a Franklin 1-yard touchdown run from the Wildcat formation, the third consecutive snap in which the Lions used it. Chaminade-Madonna went for two but failed when Ellis knocked the pass away from the receiver in the end zone to set up that final championship-winning drive that began with 3:03 showing on the clock.
The title is #8 for the TCA Conquerors, and all of them have come under Verlon Dorminey, who became the head coach 1991. He and his Conqueror teams have also finished twice as state runners-up, giving TCA a record of 8-2 in 10 championship games.
Trinity won three championships in Class 1A in 2002, 2003, and 2010 then secured four in a row in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 to become the fifth Florida team to win four straight. Chaminade-Madonna would have become the sixth, and, coincidentally, Trinity’s last win was over Chaminade-Madonna four years ago.
Congratulations to the Trinity Christian Academy Conquerors, Coach Verlon Dorminey and his assistants, and all associated with the 2020 Class 3A State Champions.
Final Stats: Courtesy Larry Withers
Trinity:
QB Ja’Cory Jordan 9att-18 comp-1 int161 YDS 2 TD
RB Kaleb Killian 21 rushes 98 Yds 1 TD
WR Marcus Burke 7 catches 144 yds 2 TDs
Chaminade-Maddona
QB Jaylon Tolbert 11-19-0 TDs
RB Thaddius Franklin 26 rushes 106 yards 2 TDs
