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Stallions girls soccer advances to Class 2A regional semifinals

DELRAY BEACH – It was a good night for the Coy sisters and American Heritage-Delray’s girls soccer team.

Broward HS Sports

Janka scores 14 points, grabs eight rebounds for Bobcats

FORT LAUDERDALE — Boca Raton ‘s girls basketball team was without its starting point guard Thursday night, but the Bobcats were still able to grind out a tough road win.

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One of the challenges facing the St. Thomas Aquinas volleyball team is their schedule.

Coach Lisa Zielinski worries the up-and-down schedule could keep her team from getting into a consistent rhythm. That’s why she’s taking her team to Chicago this weekend to play in the Asics Challenge, one of the nation’s top high school volleyball tournaments.

Before packing their bags, though, the Raiders faced a tough challenge right here in Broward County against rival Cardinal Gibbons.

Between them, St. Thomas and Gibbons have combined for 60 playoff appearances. And when they play each other, things usually get interesting.

While Gibbons is in rebuilding mode after graduating 11 seniors, the Chiefs played solidly against St. Thomas, winning a game and keeping pace with the Raiders. Eventually, though, St. Thomas earned the 25-19, 19-25, 25-17, 25-20 win against their county rival.

Here, Raiders outside hitter Bridgette Villano talks about the win and what it means to earn a victory against the Chiefs.

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Former Cardinal Gibbons High standout Blair Walsh had an unforgettable NFL debut Sunday.

Not only did Walsh boot through a 55-yard field goal as time expired in regulation, but the rookie kicker drilled a 38-yarder in overtime to give the Minnesota Vikings a 26-23 home win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Walsh, who made four field goals in the game, told reporters afterward he was confident on the drive leading to his game-winning kick.

“I told [the team] anything under 60 and I could honestly give them a realistic shot,” Walsh said. “We got it to 55. It’s crazy. I had a feeling it was coming when they scored. We had 20 seconds left — enough time to just really move it down the field.”

It’s impressive to see how Walsh, a sixth-round pick from the University of Georgia, has overcome adversity. He had a horrible senior season in Athens, Ga., missing 14 of 35 field-goal attempts, but Vikings (and former Dolphins) general manager Rick Spielman believed Walsh could reclaim his form from his previous three seasons.

Those who saw Walsh play at Cardinal Gibbons wouldn’t be surprised by Sunday’s performance. He made two field goals from 59 yards his senior year and was rated the nation’s No. 1 prep placekicker by Scout.com and No. 5 by ESPN.com.

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The good news keeps coming for some of Broward County’s top girls lacrosse players.

Cardinal Gibbons’ Maylis Broderick recently made school signing when she became the program’s first Division I signee after signing with Stetson.

Broderick was the Chiefs’ leading scorer this season with 73 goals and 12 assists. She finished her senior year with 195 career goals and according to Chiefs coach Claire Kelly, Broderick was also recruited by St. Mary’s College and Greensboro University.

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Before high school volleyball season even got underway, coaches and players in District 13-4A knew they faced a challenge merely advancing to the regional tournament.

Defending Class 4A state champion Cardinal Gibbons calls the district home, as do Chaminade-Madonna, North Broward Prep and Pine Crest. All of those programs have had plenty of success in recent seasons.

Well, now it’s settled–Cardinal Gibbons and North Broward Prep will be the two teams representing the district in the regional tournament. Gibbons earned its berth with a 3-game sweep of Pine Crest and North Broward Prep outlasted Chaminade-Madonna in a grueling 5-game match.

Here, Gibbons’ Leigh Andrew–the 3-time Sun Sentinel Player of the Year for small schools–discusses her team’s win over Pine Crest and how even though a playoff berth is secured, the Chiefs still have plenty of work ahead to reach their ultimate goal.

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Don Marino, who was the Cardinal Gibbons football coach from 1985-98, died Saturday at the age of 79.

In his 14 seasons as the Chiefs coach he complied a record of 100-49, leading the team to five district titles, six postseason appearances including a Class 3A state runner up in 1990.

Overall Marino coached 39 years with a career record of 256-112

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Cardinal Gibbons middle blocker Katie Hillman has already had an exciting year.

The junior finished with a team-high 115 blocks and had 358 kills and 185 digs while helping lead the Chiefs to a Class 4A state championship.

Now she’s made a big decision about her future.

According to Chiefs coach Kathryn Farland, Hillman verbally committed to Delaware this week.

Hillman was a first-team All-County selection this past fall.

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As a junior this fall, Caiti Donahoe helped lead Cardinal Gibbons to a Florida-record state championship.

Now, Donahoe–expected to be one of the Broward County’s top seniors next season–has made her college choice. According to Chiefs coach Kathryn Farland, the 6-foot setter has verbally committed to Miami.

Donahoe, who finished with 870 assists, 161 digs, 72 kills, 67 blocks and 39 aces, was a second-team All-County selection this year. She was a force at the state tournament, notching a match-high 36 assists in Gibbons’ 25-19, 25-22, 25-16 victory over Fort Myers in the Class 4A state championship.

She had another 35 assists in the Chiefs’ state semifinal victory over Gulf Breeze.

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Less than a week after winning its 19th state championship, the Cardinal Gibbons volleyball team has another reason to celebrate.

Wednesday, outside hitter Jessica Wynn was named the Class 4A Player of the Year and Chiefs coach Kathryn Farland was named 4A Coach of the Year by the Florida Dairy Farmers.

Wynn is now a finalist for the Miss Volleyball award and Farland is a finalist for the state’s overall Coach of the Year award.

Wynn, a senior, finished the season with 392 kills, 221 digs, 58 blocks and 51 aces. In Gibbons’ 25-19, 25-22, 25-16 victory over Fort Myers in the state championship match, the Pittsburgh signee recorded a match-high 18 kills and 10 digs.

Farland, meanwhile, led Gibbons to a 25-1 record and the state title in her third year as coach.

Also honored by the Dairy Famers were 6A Player of the Year Alex Johnson (Tampa Plant), 5A Player of the Year Nicole Walch (Martin County), 3A Player of the Year Jordan Burgess (Tampa Berkeley Prep), 2A Player of the Year Julie Trembley (Westminster Christian) and 1A Player of the Year Tina Toghiyani (Gainesville Oak Hall).

The other finalists for Coach of the Year include Warner Christian’s Vanessa Tress, Orlando First Academy’s Michele Moreman, Berkeley Prep’s Randy Dagostino, Martin County’s Krissy Schmidt and Dr. Krop’s Julie Priester.

Coach of the Year and Miss Volleyball should be announced later this year.

Broward HS Sports