FINAL: No. 15 Chaminade-Madonna upsets No. 8 American Heritage, 28-24

Kendall Webb

FINAL: No. 15 Chaminade-Madonna upsets No. 8 American Heritage, 28-24 image

No. 8 American Heritage and No. 15 Chaminade-Madonna squared off in a matchup between two Florida defending state champions Friday night.

PLANTATION, Florida, Sept. 5 — The No. 15 Chaminade-Madonna [Hollywood, FL] Lions just have the No. 8 American Heritage [Plantation, FL] Patriots' number.

For the fourth year in a row, the Lions beat the Patriots, 28-24, Friday night, knocking the Patriots out of the national championship picture in the process.

Chaminade-Madonna itself was already knocked out of the national title conversation after getting blown out two weeks ago by the No. 4 St. Frances Academy [Baltimore, MD] Panthers. Those same Panthers then saw their own title hopes dealt a blow in a 21-14 loss at the St. John Bosco [Bellflower, CA] Braves Friday night.

A fourth-down stop of American Heritage's 5-star quarterback Dia Bell proved to be crucial for the Lions who were trailing 24-21 at the time. The Patriots had the ball at Chaminade-Madonna's 1-yard line but the Lions' defense managed to bring Bell down behind the line on a play that would have given the Patriots a two-score lead. The Lions then drove down the field to take the lead themselves with the touchdown that would prove to be the difference.

With their names deleted from the list of national title contenders, both of these Florida powerhouses now turn their full attention to defending titles at the Florida state level. The Class 1A Chaminade-Madonna Lions will visit the Edison [Miami, FL] Red Raiders next Friday night while the Class 4A American Heritage Patriots will travel to Louisiana to take on the Top 20 Edna Karr [New Orleans, LA] Cougars.

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Refresh for updates

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|| FOURTH QUARTER ||

The scene as Chaminade takes down American Heritage.

 

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Chaminade-Madonna takes its first lead of the game.

4th Qtr — CHAMINADE-MADONNA 28, AMERICAN HERITAGE 24

 

 

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Chaminade-Madonna gets a huge stop at their own 1-yard line. American Heritage's Dia Bell is foreced to scramble, and the Lions tackle him for a loss to keep the Patriots from adding to their lead. There's about 7:30 to play in the game.

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We've got a good one in Florida. Chaminade-Madonna answers American Heritage's touchdown and pulls to within three again.

4th Qtr — AMERICAN HERITAGE 24, CHAMINADE-MADONNA 21

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|| THIRD QUARTER ||

American Heritage adds to its lead just before the third quarter ends.

End of 3rd Qtr — AMERICAN HERITAGE 24, CHAMINADE-MADONNA 14

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And Chaminade-Madonna isn't done, yet. They answer Heritage's field goal with a touchdown and a 2-point conversion to get this thing back to three points.

3rd Qtr — AMERICAN HERITAGE 17, CHAMINADE-MADONNA 14

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American Heritage adds a field goal to its lead.

3rd Qtr — AMERICAN HERITAGE 17, CHAMINADE-MADONNA 6

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And the third quarter is under way.

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|| SECOND QUARTER ||

American Heritage adds to its lead.

Halftime — AMERICAN HERITAGE 14, CHAMINADE-MADONNA 6

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And Chaminade-Madonna gets on the board at the 8:31 mark of the second quarter.

2nd Qtr — AMERICAN HERITAGE 7, CHAMINADE-MADONNA 6

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|| FIRST QUARTER ||

The first quarter ends with American Heritage on top.

1st Qtr — AMERICAN HERITAGE 7, CHAMINADE-MADONNA 0

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Dia Bell connects for his first touchdown pass of the night, and American Heritage takes the lead.

1st Qtr — AMERICAN HERITAGE 7, CHAMINADE-MADONNA 0

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Approaching two minutes to play in the first quarter, and it's still scoreless.

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Coming soon!

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OUR PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA TEAMS ...

Finally, don't miss out on The Sporting News Preseason All-American Teams that just debuted today!

The Sporting News High School Preseason All-American Offense 2025

The Sporting News High School Preseason All-American Defense 2025

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Kendall Webb

Kendall Webb is a freelance writer with The Sporting News and the former publisher of the College Football America Yearbook. He is a proud alumnus of Kilgore College (AA), the University of Texas at Austin (BJ), Middle Tennessee State University (BS), and Harvard University (ALM). Webb has attended a high school or college football game in more than 40 states during his career as a freelance journalist, and he remains an avid follower of team sports at all levels.