Bright and early on Saturday morning, the Cardinal Hayes Cardinals knocked off the Chaminade Flyers, 34-12, at Ott Field in Mineola. 

The league matchup between the two had playoff implications as the season winds down - the Flyers (3-3) sat at fifth in the JV AAA standings, while Hayes (3-2) was in third place entering the contest.

It did not take long for the visiting Cardinals to find the end zone, striking quickly after a Flyers punt on the opening possession. The drive showcased what the Flyers would have to be dealing with all morning - the dominance of Hayes running back Khalid Hedges.

A couple efficient running plays combined with a breakaway catch-and-run from receiver Eric Drobnak set up the Cardinals deep in Chaminade territory. On 1st-and-10 from the Chaminade 20, Hedges bounced to the far sideline and broke a tackle, using his momentum to cross the plane for the game's first score. Cardinal Hayes went for two and added to the scoreboard after quarterback Johnnye Booker went in untouched on an RPO with just under three minutes left in the first quarter, making the score 8-0.

Despite falling behind early, the Flyers found themselves celebrating a touchdown on the first play of their next drive. The answer came in the form of a 63-yard run from Cole Lombardo courtesy of superb blocking upfront.

Chaminade's first thought was to kick the extra point after the long score, but a penalty on the defense changed their minds. The Flyers went back to the ground and were denied not once, but twice at the goal line after yet another flag on Cardinal Hayes. The score remained 8-6.

The Cardinals carried this defensive momentum to the offensive side of the ball, continuing to make big plays. After a solid return from receiver Justice Baldwin to the 39-yard line, Hayes was ready to respond.

Hedges took a handoff, found an opening down the far sideline, and headed to the house for his second touchdown of the game, pushing the score to 14-6.

The Flyers stayed within one possession after Fotios Gatazonis made a great play on the ball to force an incompletion near the end of the first quarter. This time, however, the Flyers would not put points on the board, as a costly false start penalty forced a three-and-out. 

Cardinal Hayes would punt for the first time with seven-and-a-half minutes left in the second quarter. 

Chaminade made a bold decision after receiving this punt, moving the ball to its own 41-yard line before deciding to go for it on fourth-and-one. However, the quarterback run from Hugh Lynn was immediately blown up in the backfield, resulting in a turnover on downs. 

The Cardinals wasted no time capitalizing off of the turnover. On the first play from scrimmage, Hayes ran the same run-pass option from earlier, and the Flyers bit. Chaminade's front seven believed Hedges had kept it, while Booker sprinted through a gap on the right side and was in the end zone in a blink of an eye. Once again, the Flyers would allow the touchdown but not the two-point conversion, yet Hayes still had a two-touchdown lead with just over five minutes left in the second quarter. 

Already missing a few players on both sides of the football, Chaminade continued to be unlucky, as Lynn had to exit for the rest of the game after taking a hard hit from Hayes linebacker Kymani Valentine.

Disaster struck shortly afterwards. On third-and-long, new quarterback Piero Anteri and Lombardo could not complete a handoff, causing a fumble that the Cardinals immediately pounced on. Cardinal Hayes' defense had produced another turnover and set up their offense at the Flyers' 27-yard line. 

However, Chaminade's defense would prevent any gains for Cardinal Hayes, as the turnover proved to be no help for the Cardinals. Four plays and no gains in yardage gave possession back to the Flyers offense with three-and-a-half minutes to go in the first half. 

Another chance came and went for the Chaminade offense when an unnecessary roughness call on Hayes gave the Flyers life; but, on first-and-10 from their own 46-yard line, when Anteri looked deep for tight end Christian Birch Trani, Cardinals cornerback Elijah Thomas jumped in front for the interception.

After the turnover, Hayes took to the air. Booker found Maison Martin wide open up the seam to push the Cardinals all the way to the Chaminade six-yard line, but the defense prevailed once again for the Flyers. On fourth-and-goal, Booker threw it right into the hands of linebacker Nicholas Collura; the interception would end up being the final play of the first half. 

To open the second half, Hayes went back to their superstar running back. With two touchdowns already, Hedges wasn't satisfied, taking a handoff from Booker and bursting through the middle, making his way to the near sideline and finding daylight. This daylight came in the form of an 85-yard run, his third trip to the end zone. For the third time today, the Flyers shut down the two-point conversion to keep the score at 26-6. 

The inefficiency continued for the Flyers without Lynn and later, Lombardo. The punts continued, but the defense held strong and kept Hayes off the board.

The score did not change until two minutes into the fourth quarter. Booker stepped up into the pocket and connected with receiver Maison Martin, who was all alone in the back of the end zone. For the first time since the first quarter, Hayes converted on the two-pointer, pushing the lead to 34-6. 

Chaminade's first big gain since the Lombardo touchdown gave the offense confidence. Hazel took a toss around the near sideline as Giuseppe DeVita laid a perfect block on a Hayes defender. This run, combined with a quarterback draw from freshmen Jacob Fortin, put the Flyers in the red zone. Just a few plays later, Anteri found receiver Kelly Knapp wide open for the touchdown.

The Cardinals used the final six minutes of the game to drive down the field before kneeling. 

Running back Khalid Hedges finished the game with an outstanding performance, amassing 252 rushing yards on 16 carries to go with a hat trick of scores. 

Despite from the loss, Flyers head coach Michael Dolce found positives in the performance:

"We didn't give in and continued to battle throughout," he reflected, adding, "We need to eliminate the big plays and focus on tackling. "

He also cited the development of freshman running back and linebacker Giuseppe DeVita: "He's been getting better and better every game, and he's helped us out so much this year."

The Cardinals will head back home for a game against Archbishop Stepinac next weekend. As for the Flyers, they will travel to South Huntington for their last regular season matchup with the Friars before playoffs begin. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 26th.