Cardinal Newman football has cemented its best season in program history. The Crusaders routed Carrollwood Day, 48-33 in their Class 1A state semifinal on Friday, Dec. 5.Carrollwood Day ran back the opening kickoff for a touchdown, but the story was all Newman from there in a first-half demolition. West Virginia commit Jyron Hughley got the Crusaders offense rolling before hitting Janarro Sumpter for a touchdown.William Hart then intercepted the ball on the Patriots’ ensuing possession, and it wasn’t long before Newman’s Phoenix Donghia powered into the end zone, breaking three tackles to stake the Crusaders to a 14-7 lead.More: Cardinal Newman, West Boca Raton playoff runs ‘get real’ in semifinalsThe Patriots has an opportunity to draw even, but Adam Balogoun-Ali read the pass, jumping a route for Newman’s second interception. This one, the Auburn commit ran back for a wild, winding 89-yard touchdown return to give Newman a two-score lead.The break-don’t-break defense from Newman continued as Carrollwood drive to the red zone once again, but defenders punched the ball out, with Ignacio Zulaica leaping on the loose ball.Cardinal Newman ran just three more plays of offense before Leslie Mosley was on the receiving end of an 84-yard catch-and-run to the the game seemingly out of hand by halftime.Hughley would go on to add a 67-yard touchdown run on the second play of the second half, before connecting with Mosley once again on a crisp deep ball.Carrollwood scored a four straight touchdowns in the second half, drawing the score to wothin a single touchdown, but it was too little, too late, despite raising the blood pressure of the home crowd. Cardinal Newman will face Chaminade Madonna in the Class 1A state title game at FIU’s Pitbull stadium next Thursday, Dec. 11, at 12:30 p.m. Alex Peterman is a high school sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at apeterman@gannett.com.This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Cardinal Newman routs Carrollwood Day to clinch championship berth