This season’s Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Class 4A-1A co-Defensive Players of the year combined for more than 300 tackles and like one of their name suggests – a championship.

Cardinal Newman senior linebacker Adam Balogoun-Ali made history helping the Crusaders win their first football state championship in school history and established a school-record for most tackles in a season.

King’s Academy junior linebacker Levi Champion was, once again, a tackling machine for the Lions as he averaged 16.5 tackles per game with 182 tackles, including 26 tackles for loss. He led the state in all classifications.

Balogoun-Ali, who finished the year with 123 tackles, including 114 solo, helped Cardinal Newman stun four-time defending state champion Chaminade-Madonna 17-14 for the 1A state football championship at Pitbull Stadium on the campus of FIU.

The Auburn University signee transferred to Cardinal Newman from rival Benjamin prior to the start of his senior year. He will head off to Auburn as an early enrollee. He had four interceptions, including three pick-6s, 10 QB pressures, a forced fumble and recovery, to go along with his five sacks. He also blocked an extra point in a win over two-time 6A state champion West Boca, which forced overtime and led to a 26-20 victory during the year.

“This was a really complicated defense, so I had to learn and diagnose plays quickly, especially when they tried to go really fast like Chaminade does,” said Balogoun-Ali, who held 36 offers. “I think I will be able to play at the next level a lot easier because I came to Newman this year.

“The culture here is different,” Balogoun-Ali added. “We don’t play soft. It is helmet into your chest every single play. We were a brotherhood. We don’t expect to get anything. We earned everything we did.”

Adam Balogoun-Ali, from Cardinal Newman. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Champion, a two-year team captain, repeats as the Sun Sentinel small-schools player of the year, an award he shared with Cardinal Newman’s Brennan King last season. Champion, a four-year starter, was the Lou Groza Palm Beach County player of the year and finished the season with three sacks, two INTs and three forced fumbles. His tackle total was also No. 16 nationally. He also had 137 rushing yards, 76 receiving yards and two scores for the 5-6 Lions.

“I have a name to live up to, and I’m just trying to live up to it every day,” said Champion, who holds offers from Liberty, Georgia State, FAU, and Western Kentucky among others. He said he plays every game as if it is his last. Champion’s family is a football family. His father played at Cincinnati and his brother also was an All-County selection at King’s Academy.

“I feel like it’s a very humbling to be in the position I am,” he added. “It’s just a great opportunity to go out there every day, and kind of prove myself and prove to everyone the player I am.”

Levi Champion from King’s Academy, football player of the year, photographed on Wednesday, December 10, 2025.(Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2025/12/25/palm-beach-4a-1a-football-defensive-player-of-the-year/