This past Friday, the Cardinal Gibbons varsity football team beat the Leesville Road Pride 33-23, claiming the Cap-6 Conference title.
After a slew of blowouts against conference opponents, the Crusaders were put to the test by Leesville. This matchup came at high stakes, as Leesville arrived in enemy territory with a vengeance after an exciting 38-7 Crusaders victory last year.
The night began with Senior Night announcements of the members of the football, cheer, and dance teams. Then followed a thrilling procession of the team through the student section. As cheers erupted, the players slapped their hands against The Rock and sprinted onto the field. This courageous, contagious spirit remained throughout the entire game.
“Obviously we got off to a good start there, took a seven-point lead into halftime,” said head coach Steven Wright.
In the first half, quarterback Gannon Jones (Class of 2026) launched impressive passes to wide receiver Aiden Smalls (Class of 2026), the dynamic duo securing two touchdowns. They each went on to score one more touchdown in the second half. Smalls was named ‘Player of the Game’–a reward for his one passing and two receiving touchdowns (105 yards on five catches).
The Pride gained back the lead at the start of the third, but had a momentous fumble, and the Crusaders climbed their way back to the top.
“The fumble was obviously huge… but we stopped them twice prior to that pick and forced them to punt and that really shifted some of that momentum back to us,” said Coach Wright. “What I loved was just our resilience. I think it was the first time in a while that we’ve been down in the second half… we got a conference title on the line, and those guys really rallied there in the fourth quarter.”
Both teams were on their own respective hot streaks this season.
The Pride’s sole loss of the season came in a non-conference matchup against the Wake Forest Cougars in two overtimes, 34-28. Seven of Leesville’s eight wins (8-2, 4-1) had been by double digits, most recently dominating Athens Drive for their fourth win in a row. The Crusaders were coming off a similar road matchup against Broughton, winning 63-3. In a five-game stretch, Gibbons (8-2, 5-0) defeated its opponents by an average of an astounding 41.3 points.
The Gibbons community hopes for this winning streak to continue as the team rolls into their first home playoff game tonight against the Overhills Jaguars (5-5, 5-2).
“We obviously can’t wait,” says Coach Wright. “There’s nothing like the postseason. That’s where the memories are made.”
