PLANTATION — Freshman quarterback Malik Leonard engineered a 15-play, 98-yard drive and hit senior Jasen Lopez in the corner of the end zone with 2:42 left as Chaminade-Madonna stunned host American Heritage 28-24 in a battle of nationally ranked, defending state champions on Friday night.
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Leonard, who split snaps with junior Tyler Chance throughout the game, was 5 for 6 on the decisive drive for 85 yards and the winning 12-yard touchdown for the go-ahead score.
Until then, Leonard had completed just 2 for 7 for 49 yards. The drive wouldn’t have been possible had the 34th-ranked Lions (2-1) not stuffed No. 7-ranked American Heritage on a goal-line stand four times from a yard out.
American Heritage wide receiver Jeffar Jean-noel (8) picks up a first down in the third quarter against the Chaminade-MadonnaFriday, Sept. 5, 2025 (Jim Rassol/Contributor).
Chaminade-Madonna coach Dameon Jones, who has led the Lions to nine consecutive state championship games, winning seven, was impressed with his freshman signal-caller.
“We just have to stay with the guy who is hot,” Jones said. “Sometimes it’s your night and sometimes it’s not.”
“He definitely showed how composed he is, especially being a freshman in such a big game,” added Lopez, who is an FSU commit. “We needed him to step up for us and make those big throws and that’s what he did. Derrek (Cooper) had a great game setting the tone early. He set up the run plays for us to be able to air it out and we did just that.”
American Heritage (1-1), who had battled back from a 28-point deficit to win its opener 31-28 over St. Joseph’s Prep, had one final chance to rally needing to go 80 yards against Chaminade-Madonna.
Five-star senior quarterback Dia Bell led the Patriots down to the Chaminade-Madonna 18 before the drive stalled. Bell was sacked for a 6-yard loss by Lions sophomore defensive end Alexander Beltran on third down, and Bell’s fourth-down pass with 29 seconds remaining was incomplete and Chaminade-Madonna ran out the clock for its fourth straight win over the Patriots to even the series between the two teams at 9-9 dating back to 2004.
American Heritage quarterback Dia Bell (3) gains a few tough yards against the Chaminade-Madonna in the fourth quarter. Friday, Sept. 5, 2025 (Jim Rassol/Contributor).
“Early on we couldn’t really get anything going as an offense,” Lopez said. “(During) halftime the coaches adjusted and put me to outside to try to get me more touches so that’s really what it was.”
On the previous drive, with the Patriots up 24-21, Bell led American Heritage from their own 20 to the Lions’ 1 as Bell had a key 27-yard run to the 1.
Junior running back Jonathan Bueno, who scored three times in the Patriots’ opening-game win, was stopped three times inside the 1. Bell was then dropped for a 1-yard loss and Chaminade-Madonna took over, going the distance for the winning score.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity, we just couldn’t execute,” said American Heritage coach Mike Smith. “We didn’t take advantage of a golden opportunity. We had the ball exactly where we wanted it at the one inch line and they stopped us. You have to give them credit. They stopped us when they had to and went the distance for the win.”
Next season, it could be Bell handing the ball off to Lions running back Derrek Cooper at the University of Texas, where they are both 5-star commits.
Even though they were on opposite sidelines, both figured in the scoring as Bell threw for three touchdowns, while Cooper struck paydirt three times on the ground and finished with 51 yards rushing.
Chaminade-Madonna Derrek Cooper (1) breaks free for a big gain against the American Heritage in the second half. Friday, Sept. 5, 2025 (Jim Rassol/Contributor).
“This just makes us go back to the drawing board. We’ve got a lot to work on,” said Bell, who finished the first half 15 of 17 for 147 yards and wound up 28 for 35 for 303 yards.
“We have a long season ahead of us and a lot to learn from,” Bell added. “We have to score there, no doubt about it. They took advantage of getting the ball back. They are a great football team and when they get the ball, they capitalize and make plays.”
The host Patriots grabbed a 14-6 halftime cushion as Bell had scoring throws of 20 yards to Coi Jean-Noel and 71 yards to Jamar Denson. Denson finished with 190 yards on 10 catches, while Jean-Noel had nine catches for 80 yards before leaving the game with cramps in the fourth quarter.
Four-time defending Class 1A state champion Chaminade-Madonna, answered on the first of Cooper’s scores, a 14-yard run. He would later add runs of six and a 1-yard plunge as the Lions battled back twice from two score deficits.
“(The win) was great,” Cooper said. “We all connected together and said we needed to get it done, so we locked In and drove down the field.”
American Heritage, thanks to the 71-yard scoring play, had 169 yards of offense in the first half, while the Lions were held to just 63 yards. They finished with 273 total yards.
Chaminade-Madonna Derrek Cooper (1) scores a touchdown in the third quarter against the American Heritage. Friday, Sept. 5, 2025 (Jim Rassol/Contributor).
Chaminade-Madonna found their offensive rhythm in the second half, but the defense kept them in the game with six sacks to go along with the goal-line stand.
American Heritage pushed the lead to 17-6 with 8:13 left in the third on a 36-yard FG by Kade Bailey.
The Lions cut into the deficit to 17-14 with 4:57 left in the third on Cooper’s 6-yard run. Cooper pitched to Elijah Henry who ran it in for the two-point conversion.
Bell threw his third touchdown of the night, and his second to Jean-Noel, covering a yard, for a 24-14 advantage with 45 seconds left in the third. Chaminade-Madonna cut it to 24-21 with 11:57 left in the game on Cooper’s third TD run of the night. The Lions benefited from two costly Patriots personal foul penalties on the drive.
“We had our opportunities,” Smith added. “We had opportunities to put them away at the end, two times, but we didn’t get it done. We had the chance for the touchdown and then we had them pinned and we didn’t get it done.”
“We have been playing each other the last five years and it has come down to the wire every time,” Jones said. “Our defense has been playing all year and I am just so proud of them. They continue to do what they do. That’s a heckuva football team and when you come in here, you know it is going to come down to the wire. They took some stuff away early, but we just tried to put the ball in our playmakers’ hands and we did.”
American Heritage wide receiver Jeffar Jean-noel (8) celebrates a touchdown in the third quarter against Chaminade-Madonna. Friday, Sept. 5, 2025 (Jim Rassol/Contributor).
