Cardinal Gibbons Edge Dillard

    Christian Blake caught a 40-yard pass behind the Dillard defense in the end zone with 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter and gave the Cardinal Gibbons Chiefs a 27-26 victory over the Dillard Panthers at The Furnace on Friday night. Ryan Giaratano found him on a fourth-and-three play in what was the Chiefs final chance to win this game.
    The complexion of District 15-5A changed as of the result of this game as Cardinal Gibbons(2-0, 7-0) remained undefeated and will travel to Plantation-American Heritage next week for the district title. Dillard(2-1, 4-4) fell to second place and hopes they can reach the FHSAA playoffs as a district runner-up because they lost to the Chiefs in the head-to-head tie breaker.
    The Panthers got going on their second possession of the game when Dennis Turner caught a 40-yard pass down to the Chiefs 18-yard line. Lee Martin finished the 11-play, 80 yard drive with a eight-yard run around the left end at 5:42 for a Dillard 7-0 lead.
    Dillard was unable to get off a punt on their next drive as Gibbons took over at the Panthers 16-yard line. Three plays later, Giaratano hooked up with David Senior on a 15-yard touchdown reception with 19 seconds left in the first quarter to tie the game 7-7.
    Eddie Roberts IV looked like he was stopped on a run to the left side, backed up and went up the middle 18-yard for a score to cap a six-play, 53 yard drive at 8:53 of the second quarter. The extra point was blocked by Matt Sandelier and would have an effect for the rest of the game.
   The Panthers extended their lead to 20-7 on their next possession with 6:21 remaining in the first half. On the first play of the drive, Dre'sean Nelson bumped off a tackle at the line of scrimmage and rocketed down the sideline untouched from 53 yards away.
    The Chiefs picked up the only score in the third quarter on their opening possession at 10:38 to cut the margin down to 20-14. They completed the five-play, 65-yard drive as Peyton Bender connected with Trevon Lee down the sideline from 36 yards out.
    In the fourth quarter, Cardinal Gibbons took their first lead of the game 21-20 with 9:41 left as Marcus Dixon plunged in with a four-yard run.
    Dillard bounced back on their third play after the ensuing kickoff. Michael Turner caught a pass down the middle as he raced by the Chiefs secondary and scored on a 78-yard reception with 8:43 to go. The Panthers two-point conversion pass was intercepted and they led 26-21.