Cardinal Gibbons@ Booker T. Washington
2A PLAYOFFS ROUND 2 | 2024 SEASON
November 26, 2024
by Josh Zedner
Miami, Fla. | “Tornadoes Wipe Out Chiefs”
Florida Man Sports is back with Round 2 coverage of the South Florida high school football season! The stakes are getting higher with each matchup and the games are getting more entertaining. Tonight we had a matchup between the Cardinal Gibbons Chiefs and the Booker T. Washington Tornadoes. The Chiefs, at 7-4, had a squeak of a victory last week against Carol City. Booker T. has been breezing through opponents as of late, with their last victory being a comfortable one against North Miami Beach last week.
The Tornadoes got the ball, and they made things look easy breezy on the first drive. 2026 RB Irwin James was chewing through the Gibbons defense with a couple of first-down carries. 2025 QB Nylan Maine had a first-down QB rush of his own. Maine found 2026 WR Dannell Weseby for a first down early on the drive, and then connected with him in the front of the endzone on a nice grab by Weseby to give Booker T. an early 7-0 lead.
2027 QB Cody Conness, replacing the injured 2026 QB Jayden Torres, was composed early on, delivering first-down completions to 2026 WR Merrick Todich and 2025 WR Brian Williams. But after a good play made by 2027 DB Terry Wilcox and a missed field goal, the Tornadoes never looked back. Maine was locked in from this point forward. He had two rushes for first downs on the next drive, and he connected with 2026 WR Anton Smith for another first down. Maine finished off the drive with a rushing touchdown to put Booker T. up by 14.
Gibbons looked to get their running game going shortly thereafter, with first-down runs by 2025 WR/RB Jonathan Chalmers (twice) and 2027 RB Donte Findeson. Conness also connected with 2025 WR Trent DuBuc for a first down on the drive. But just as the Chiefs were gaining momentum, a ball was tipped off of a receiver’s hands and popped into the waiting arms of 2025 DB Fabulis Scott, who made another great tackle earlier on the drive. A fabulous play by Fabulis.
Maine just dialed in once again on the next drive, rushing and passing for first downs (this time
a connection with 2025 WR Jordan Turner). James had some hard runs of his own as well, breaking Chief tackles and rumbling for a couple of first downs. Compiled with a facemask penalty, Booker T. was right back on the goal line. Maine then found Smith in the back of the endzone to extend the lead out to 20-0 in the blink of an eye.
At this point, things looked bleak for Gibbons. And it got even bleaker. 2025 DB and Florida commit Ben Hanks Jr. flew in for an interception. And with good field position, Maine scored yet another touchdown, essentially walking in with some contact attached to him. Right before the half, as if things couldn’t get any worse, after 2027 DB Trezevant Boyd had a PBU, Hanks Jr. picked off yet another pass by Conness, this time taking it to the house and essentially finishing the game by making it 34-0 at the half.
The Tornadoes offense and defense both continued to shine well into the second half, with Scott and Boyd both making plays for Booker T. James got on the board with a touchdown run in the 3rd quarter. And in the middle of the 4th, 2026 RB Kimbriq Minnis had a touchdown to put the final score at 47-0.
A blowout shutout playoff victory. Booker T. looked incredible tonight. The energy was there and it was infectious. They were looking to take care of business and got it done early. This game lasted less than two hours. In and out. The offense looks better each game, and Maine is looking more and more comfortable as a signal caller. With the weapons that he has in James, Smith, Turner, Weseby, and 2027 WR Jamal Robinson Jr., this offense may very well have no limits. The defense, led of course by the great Hanks Jr. has been pretty outstanding for the majority of the year. Scott and Boyd added in some really nice contributions of their own tonight as well. This team is a definite state contender in the 2A bracket. They looked fantastic tonight, and the Tornadoes will rematch Immaculata-La Salle in the next round.
For Cardinal Gibbons, this definitely isn’t the way you want to end your season. Yes, losing Torres was tough, but Conness (besides the turnovers) looked pretty competent tonight. They also have a pretty solid run game to rely on as well. With so much talent leaving at receiver in Williams, DuBuc, and 2025 WR Tyler Jackson, they will need to restock that room in the offseason. And the defense got absolutely shredded tonight, particularly on the ground. Everything was coming far too easy for Maine and James. Practice makes perfect, and with a quality and disciplined coaching staff in charge of the Chiefs, that unit will look to improve next season.
FINAL SCORE:
Booker T. Washington beats Cardinal Gibbons 47-0
About Josh Zedner:
Joshua Zedner is a beat writer covering high school football for Florida Man Sports. A native of Miami Beach, he attended Florida International University before finishing his undergraduate Business Administration degree at the University of Florida. Josh is an avid Miami sports fan, and he also writes a music review blog as a passion project under the @AlbumAnalysisWithZ handle on Instagram.
