The Charlotte Cardinals won the Gonzaga Classic in dominant fashion.
After losing the final of this tournament by a slim margin a year ago, the Cardinals rolled in showing good form and showcasing a very quick and smart game plan.
They showed that early, shutting out Aspetuck and beating a pretty effective Fort Hunt sides 52-7.
On Sunday, the Cardinals completed pool play with a 45-13 win over War Eagle out of Georgia (the state, not the country) and that set up the final.
Gonzaga is almost always the winner of this tournament and they won their pool this time, thanks in large part to close wins over BC High and Father Dueñas, a school team out of Guam. This was an important match for Gonzaga and their Head Coach, Peter Baggetta. A graduate of Guam's JFK HS and also the University of Guam, Baggetta has deep ties to the island and returns to Guam regularly in part to share his coaching knowledge. He has coached everyone on the Father Dueñas staff, including his nephew. Coming to this tournament was a chance for Father Dueñas to play strong opposition, and they did superbly well. The Guamanian team lost to BC High 19-17, and Gonzaga 10-5, while beating Clayton.
Gonzaga, for their part, beat Clayton with a shutout, and along with that close win over Father Dueñas, also edged BC High 17-10.
