Boca Raton football: Chance Routson's big night not enough against Cardinal Gibbons

Marc Berman

BOCA RATON — Surprising Boca Raton High hung with visiting Broward County power Cardinal Gibbons, trailing just 10-7 midway through the third quarter.

But then the floodgates opened and Cardinal Gibbons reeled off three consecutive touchdowns in a 7-minute span to go up 31-7 and posted a 31-19 non-district triumph Friday.

Boca Raton has been amid a boon season, clinching the District 11 4M title with a win over powerful Santaluces one week ago – its first district title since 2011.

But the Bobcats couldn’t go four quarters with the bigger, faster Chiefs, who won Florida state titles in 2018, 2020 and 2021 and made the state final four last season.

Cardinal Gibbons quarterback Michael Merdinger is committed to the University of North Carolina and his tight end, the 6-4 Colton Heinrich is headed to Georgia.

Boca Raton quarterback Chance Routson celebrates a touchdown against Cardinal Gibbons on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023 in Boca Raton.
Boca Raton quarterback Chance Routson celebrates a touchdown against Cardinal Gibbons on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023 in Boca Raton.

More: Boca Raton football beats Santaluces to win first district title since 2001

But Boca Raton’s sophomore quarterback Chance Routson more than held his own and wound up passing for 301 passing yards (20 of 28), ending the night with a 40-yard strike to Dante Ambrose with 38 seconds to go for this third touchdown pass.

But he had one costly interception that turned the tide.

Rouston completed 12 of his first 16 passes before his first major gaffe, throwing a “Pick 6” while under pressure. Cardinal Gibbons’ Ivan Pagan intercepted the past at the 29 and rambled into the end zone as the lead swelled to 24-7 with 5:47 left in the third quarter.

With a late fourth-quarter surge, Rouston guided Boca Raton to a late touchdown and drove the Bobcats to the 1 before a fumble.

If you can add Damien Taylor had 8 receptions for 152 yards, including a 3-yard TD catch.

“It was an opportunity for us to get better and prepare ourselves for the playoffs against a great team,’’ first-year coach Alex Savakinas said of his 5-3 squad. “It is only going to make us better. They’re hurting from this – they’re a big team. We’re going to grow from this.

"We were able to compete. I can’t give them enough kudos for working their asses off. Our next step is coming up on top in games like this. Going into a halftime, we set up ourselves to have a chance.’’

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Week 9 Scoreboard

Friday

  • Cardinal Newman 17, Benjamin 14

  • Atlantic 28, Dwyer 7

  • Palm Beach Gardens 23, Palm Beach Central 14

  • Seminole Ridge 34, Park Vista 14

  • Jupiter 36, Forest Hill 6

  • Palm Beach Lakes 60, Wellington 34

  • King’s Academy 40, True North Classical 34

  • Glades Central 41, Suncoast 3

  • Somerset-Canyons 48, Jupiter Christian 7

  • West Boca Raton 58, Northeast 0

  • Lake Worth 21, John I. Leonard 6

Thursday

  • Santaluces 52, Spanish River 34

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boca Raton football can't keep up with Cardinal Gibbons in second half

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