FORT PIERCE — Cardinal Newman football’s new dynamic duo announced its arrival in style on the first night of the Florida high school football season.
Seniors Jyron Hughley and Phoenix Donghia combined for five first-half touchdowns in a 49-0 rout at John Carroll Catholic on Aug. 21.
Donghia, an offseason transfer from Benjamin and James Madison commit, needed just eight carries in piling up 119 yards and three scores.
Hughley, a West Virginia commit, scored the game’s opening touchdown on an 11-yard scamper and hit Leslie Mosley for a 37-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter to give the Crusaders a commanding 35-0 halftime lead.
“Me and Snow (Hughley) are the best duo in the state of Florida,” Donghia told TC Palm’s Patrick Bernadeau after the win. “I mean, if they’re gonna load the box and crash down on me, Snow is going to pull down and take it for a touchdown. So, we work together, we make things happen and it’s a great duo.
“My line blocked it perfectly, the receivers blocked it perfectly. I got to the outside and was able to take it to the crib,” Donghia said of his 49-yard touchdown run.
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Donghia’s thrilling debut with the Crusaders is the latest chapter in the senior back’s decorated high school career.
At Benjamin, Donghia piled up more than 1,900 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns across three varsity seasons. The Bucs leaned heavily on the back last season while the offense struggled to develop a consistent passing attack.
In January, Donghia joined linebacker Adam Balogoun-Ali and offensive lineman Brayden Charney in transferring from Benjamin to Newman after longtime Bucs head coach Eric Kresser resigned. It was a perfect fit given Newman’s need to replace 1,000-yard rusher Jaylin Brown, who signed with the University of Pittsburgh.
Long a thorn in the side of head coach Jack Daniels during the rivals’ district matchups, Donghia is now poised to be one of the veteran head coach’s most reliable weapons.
“We’ve played against him for years when he was at Benjamin and I know how good of a running back he is,” Daniels said. “I’m just happy that he’s on our team. He’s fast, he’s tough, he catches the ball and blocks. He’s hard to bring down and we have a really good offensive line, so we have a lot of positives there.”
The Crusaders’ thrashing of John Carroll Catholic, who finished 10-1 last season, is the first win in a season filled with hope for another playoff breakthrough.
Cardinal Newman is 39-9 in four seasons under Daniels and hasn’t lost to a team from Palm Beach County since 2021. Last season, the Crusaders reached the state semifinals for the first time in program history.
The next step won’t be as easy as Thursday, however, as the path to a state championship appearance in Newman’s classification (1A) will again run through the Crusaders’ fellow private, metro powerhouses.
Four-time reigning state champion Chaminade-Madonna and Clearwater Central Catholic, the teams who beat Newman in the playoffs each of the past four years, begin the 2025 season ranked above the Crusaders in the MaxPreps state rankings.
The Crusaders aren’t shy about wanting another shot at their annual playoff foes come December, particularly with the caliber of players on the roster this fall.
“Coach Jack (Daniels) is great, he’s been recruiting me for a while,” Donghia said. “We have one goal and that’s to win the state championship. And that’s what we’re looking forward to doing.”
Eric J. Wallace is deputy sports editor for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at ejwallace@gannett.com.
Patrick Bernadeau covers high school sports for Treasure Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at pbernadeau@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Cardinal Newman football unleashes new Jyron Hughley, Phoenix Donghia duo in Week 1 rout
Reporting by Eric J. Wallace and Patrick Bernadeau, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
