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Chaminade-Madonna’s receivers kept creating separation, and Brady Quinn kept making Venice pay.
Quinn, a Notre Dame commit, threw three touchdown passes, including two to Tromon Isaac, as the fourth-seeded Lions opened Open Division pool play with a 35–0 victory over eighth-seeded Venice on Friday night at Zappone Field.
Chaminade built a 28–0 halftime lead behind an explosive passing attack, while its defense forced three interceptions and denied Venice points on multiple trips inside the 10.
“He’s the best quarterback in the country, that’s what he’s been showing me,” Chaminade coach Dameon Jones said. “Yeah, he’s special.”
Quinn found Isaac on an eight-yard slant with 8:42 remaining in the first quarter for the opening touchdown. The pair connected again on a deep completion that put Chaminade at the 1-yard line as the quarter ended, setting up a rushing touchdown to open the second.
Another deep ball to Kedarius Rhaney put the Lions back in the red zone during the second quarter, and Chaminade added its second rushing touchdown of the night to stretch the lead to 21–0.
The Lions delivered another blow just before halftime. After Ka’Ron Holcombe intercepted a pass near the goal line with 48 seconds remaining, Quinn found Isaac for a touchdown of approximately 50 yards with 27 seconds left.
“I mean, when you got receivers like we have and you got a quarterback like we have, man, why not?” Jones said.
Venice produced occasional gains but could not sustain enough offense to keep pace. Its rushing attack struggled to find consistent openings, and promising possessions repeatedly ended without points.
Chaminade intercepted a pass with 2:29 left in the first quarter, stopped Venice on fourth down inside the 10 with 5:28 remaining in the second, then got Holcombe’s interception before halftime.
“They got down in the red zone a couple times, the defense stood up in the paint,” Jones said.
Angelo Smith added another interception with 7:45 remaining in the third quarter, returning it to the Venice 6. Quinn capitalized by finding Rhaney for his third touchdown pass with 6:17 left, making it 35–0.
Venice threatened again late in the third quarter but turned the ball over on downs with 11:04 remaining in the fourth.
Jones pointed to penalties as an area to improve, but Chaminade left its opener with both sides of the ball producing.
His approach to navigating pool play remained straightforward.
“You gotta win, right?” Jones said. “So you approach it like any other game.”
Chaminade-Madonna will host fifth-seeded Lakeland on Friday, Nov. 20, while Venice returns home to face top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas as Open Division pool play continues.