HOLLYWOOD — Cardinal Newman football will have to wait another year.

The Crusaders entered Friday's game against Chaminade-Madonna looking for redemption for regional finals losses in the past two years at the hands of the Lions.

But in a game that quickly got away from them, Cardinal Newman struggled to remain in striking distance against a lethal performance from the Lions on both sides of the ball.

A fourth-down stop and an interception in the end zone by the Newman defense staved off a first-half running clock, but the offense, despite a few big plays by Naeshaun Montgomery and Dallas Desouza, had difficulty finding the end zone.

A number of seniors made big plays as well, though they quickly became afterthoughts in a 40-0 loss.

“Just a great group of guys,” Cardinal Newman head coach Jack Daniels said of the senior class. “You feel sorry for those guys more than anything tonight because they’re the heart and soul of this team. We hit a buzz saw tonight and I just didn’t have the team ready to play. It’s one hundred percent my fault.”

It’s perhaps an unnecessary amount of blame to place on any one person — Chaminade has been dismantling teams this season, cruising to an undefeated record while allowing fewer than 10 points per game against stiff competition.

While Friday's lopsided result for Newman might appear to be a call for back to the drawing board, it does not sully an impressive season by one of Palm Beach County's best.

The Crusaders dominated in every sense of the word, defeating such top teams as Benjamin, Atlantic and Palm Beach Central.

Crusaders' semifinal victory: Cardinal Newman routs Benjamin in 1M regional semifinal

But while the season draws to a close, the next chapter — the seniors moving on to play at the next level — is to be celebrated.

Josh Philostin will play at Indiana. Kevin Levy will play at Rutgers. Ricky Knight III will play at Florida State, and Braden Chisholm will play at Florida Southern.

“That’s our job right now, to get Dallas a place to play, Ta’Narie … those guys are great players and we’re going to find a spot for them to play college football,” Daniels said.

Despite a dominant senior class hanging up the cleats for the last time at the high school level, Newman will return a solid group of younger stars, and a junior class that includes Montgomery, Jaylin Brown, Xanai Scott, Max Redmon, and others will also surely create a strong foundation for leadership on the field.

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 football eliminated from playoffs in shutout at Chaminade