Football Recap: Cardinal Newman Takes a Loss

If Cardinal Newman was feeling good fresh off their 49-0 takedown of John Carroll Catholic last Thursday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Crusaders lost to the Roman Catholic Cahillite at home by a 49-35 margin on Friday. The Crusaders were right on the edge of victory: they outscored the Cahillite in the fourth quarter 8-0.

Despite the loss, Cardinal Newman still got an impressive performance from Jyron Hughley, who rushed for 153 yards on only 12 carries, and also threw for 106 yards and one touchdown. Hughley's longest rush was for an impressive 63 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total.

Don't try to pin the team's loss on the defense: they kept the trenches locked down and allowed a mere 2.6 yards per carry. The team can thank Adam Balogoun-Ali for the heroic effort on defense: he. Cardinal Newman didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 8.3.

Semaj Beals went supernova For Roman Catholic., throwing for 336 yards and six TDs while completing 72.7% of his passes. That's the most passing touchdowns Beals has posted since back in August of 2024. Roman Catholic also got help from Jayden Alford, who showed off his sure hands for 106 receiving yards.

Cardinal Newman's record is now 1-1. As for Roman Catholic, the win also got them back to even at 1-1.

Cardinal Newman and Roman Catholic should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in their respective state rankings. The Crusaders will square off against Benjamin at 7:00 p.m. on Friday with a big rank advantage (31 vs. 98). Meanwhile, Roman Catholic (ranked seventh) will meet Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (ranked 58th) at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.