Football Recap: Cardinal Newman Piles Up the Points Against Benjamin

You're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter and that's exactly how it played out for Cardinal Newman on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew the Benjamin Buccaneers out of the water with a 47-0 final score. Given the Crusaders' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 28th, while the Buccaneers are ranked 104th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.

Cardinal Newman got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Phoenix Donghia out in front who rushed for 125 yards and two scores on only seven carries, and also picked up 38 receiving yards and one TD. Donghia's longest rush was for an incredible 80 yards. Jyron Hughley was another key passer, throwing for 205 yards and three touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes.

Crusaders

Rushing Yards

09/05/25 vs Benjamin	242
08/29/25 vs Roman Catholic	231
08/21/25 @ John Carroll Catholic	190
12/05/24 vs Clearwater Central Catholic	180
11/29/24 vs First Baptist Academy	201
+ 4 more games

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Cardinal Newman was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 242 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2024.

Cardinal Newman's defense stepped up as well, laying out Charlie Smith. three times. In that department, Ty Kirkpatrick was the leader with two sacks. Aydan Elam got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.

Cardinal Newman now has a winning record of 2-1. As for Benjamin, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 1-2.

Coming up, Cardinal Newman will take on Pahokee at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 908 yards in their previous games. As for Benjamin, they will face off against Gulliver Prep at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday.