American Heritage takes punch, but runs over Cardinal Gibbons to get back to state semis
Plantation American Heritage was waiting for the moment to come when an uncharacteristically shaky start would end and, of course, it was going to come from Mark Fletcher. The American Heritage game plan is sometimes simple because of the workhorse it has in its backfield and Fletcher, with one galloping 36-yard run through and around Cardinal Gibbons’ defense Friday, rewarded the Patriots with the breakthrough they were counting on in the first few minutes of the second quarter.
The star running back took a handoff and outran one defender in the backfield, then turned the corner and took off down the right side of Heritage Field. He split two more defenders, ran through a tackle attempt from a third and kept his balance to trot into the end zone for the touchdown American Heritage needed. They were the first of 17 straight points the Patriots, who shook off an early 10-point deficit to beat the Chiefs, 31-20, in the Region 4-2M championship.
“That first touchdown — that just really got everybody going,” Fletcher said. “They just needed a spark. The coaches said somebody’s going to make a play and I just made it.”
By ending Cardinal Gibbons’ state-championship defense, American Heritage (12-1) is now just two wins away from its second state title in three years and a meeting with Jacksonville Bolles for the 2M semifinals, back in Plantation, looms next week.
With Fletcher as their engine, the Patriots are rightfully the favorite to get to Fort Lauderdale for the 2M championship next month as the No. 10 team in MaxPreps’ national rankings. The 36-yard touchdown run was just the start for the senior, who’s the No. 15 running back in the 247Sports composite rankings for the Class of 2023. Fletcher logged 24 carries, and ran for 189 yards and two touchdowns. He ripped off a 49-yard run later in the second quarter to set up a short touchdown for American Heritage running back Byron Louis, which gave the Patriots the lead for good at 14-10, and he added three more runs of at least 10 yards in the fourth quarter to help American Heritage run out the clock on its cross-county rival.
“He’s a kid that just keeps coming,” Patriots coach Mike Smith said. “That kid has been the heart of this program for the last four years. He said, Listen, man, Coach, don’t worry. We’ve got you.”
His 49-yard run came on American Heritage’s first offensive play after his touchdown and it immediately put the Patriots back in the red zone. Three plays later, Louis plunged up the middle for a 4-yard touchdown to send American Heritage into halftime with a 14-10 lead. The Patriots got the ball to start the second half and again marched into the end zone before settling for a 40-yard field goal to go up 17-10. Cardinal Gibbons (11-2) hit a chip-shot field goal on its next drive to cut American Heritage’s lead to 17-13 with 53 seconds left in the third quarter, but the Patriots had the personnel to essentially ice the game there and they did.
American Heritage’s next drive lasted 13 plays, included a fourth-and-1 conversion in its own territory, ate up nearly six minutes and ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Fletcher on third-and-goal.
Eleven of the 13 plays on the drive were runs, and one of the passes was a forward pitch on a jet sweep and the other came on second-and-20.
The Patriots finished the drive up 24-13 with 6:57 remaining and they immediately forced the Chiefs into a turnover on downs on just four plays on the next drive to lock up the win.
“It’s just how I was raised. You never give up, you never quit. I have so much faith in this team,” Fletcher said. “We were down by 10 points. That’s nothing.”
Louis punctuated the victory with a 3-yard touchdown run — he added eight carries for 58 yards as part of the “dynamic duo,” as Fletcher called them — and Cardinal Gibbons’ desperation comeback stalled when the Chiefs failed to recover an onside kick with three minutes remaining.
Cardinal GIbbons — despite getting 15 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown from star running back Kamari Moulton, who’s orally committed to the Iowa Hawkeyes — only ran seven offensive plays in the fourth quarter, as American Heritage controlled the clock and got one crucial stop.
The Patriots are on the verge of returning to the pinnacle of Florida high school football and, by knocking off a reigning state champion, they got past one of their toughest hurdles this week.
Said Smith: “You can’t help but be confident with what you have in that locker room.”
This story was originally published November 26, 2022 at 12:31 AM.
