After eventful signing day, American Heritage WR and Miami signee wins Nat Moore Trophy

To say it was quite a full day on Wednesday for Malachi Toney might be seriously understating the issue.

After not attending his own school’s signing day ceremony in the afternoon (and the anticipation that he would sign with the University of Miami), the star wide receiver-turned-quarterback at Plantation American Heritage showed up at the Lexus Stadium Club at Hard Rock Stadium early in the evening having eventually inked the deal with UM a few hours earlier.

Now it was time for the annual CBS Miami Nat Moore Trophy Awards Ceremony (televised live on CBS4 with anchor Jim Berry hosting) and Toney was one of four finalists. At the end of the show, former Miami Dolphin great Nat Moore announced the winner, recognizing the top high school football player in South Florida, and it was Toney who took home the hardware.

“It means a lot to win and award like this and it’s just a blessing to me and my family,” Toney said. “I give all the glory to God.”

Toney beat out three other finalists, Booker T. Washington defensive back Ben Hanks Jr., Miami Central linebacker Ezekiel Marcelin and Miami Norland quarterback Ennio Yapoor.

Toney to this point has accumulated 58 receptions for 1,008 yards this season and 12 touchdowns. But it’s what he has done the last few weeks that really turned heads.

After starting quarterback and Texas commit Dia Bell went down with a season-ending leg injury against Fort Lauderdale Dillard in a regional semifinal (and his team trailing 14-0 at the time), Toney stepped right in and literally put the team on his back, taking over quarterback duties (having not played the position since his youth football days) to rally them past Dillard and then beat Norland last week in the regional final.

Now the Pats are two wins away from a state title as they prepare to host St. Augustine in a 4A state semifinal Friday night.

The irony of him sitting right next to Marcelin when the winner was announced was that it was that very same Central player that stripped the ball away from Toney deep in Central territory two years ago in the final seconds of a 38-31 state championship game loss to the Rockets.

Since then Toney has set out to atone for that error and is hoping to close out his career with a state championship.

“Yeah, that’s pretty amazing that we were up on stage together tonight,” Toney said. “On the field, E.J. (Marcelin) and I were always competitors but outside of football, that’s my brother. What happened to me two years ago has helped me grow as a player and a man. Coach Mike (head coach Mike Smith) was with me every step of the way and he never doubted me. He kept the faith in me and continued fighting for me. I thank him and the entire American Heritage program for that.”

With his 12 touchdowns this season, Toney now has a total of 28 for his high school career.

“What happened that night has been a big driving force for him,” Smith said. “He came up 28 yards short that night and we’ve always used that as our motivation going forward. He goes on the jugs machine everyday and catches 28 balls in the middle, 28 balls to the left, 28 balls to the right. So that’s a number that him and I have talked about over these last few years.

“Everybody’s looking at it and they’re amazed by the things that he does but I’ve seen the work ethic day in and day out and the time that he puts into this game. He does not lack for confidence in himself and it’s not an arrogant thing either, he just truly believes that he was meant to do this.”

While they didn’t win the Nat Moore Trophy, it was still a productive day for Marcelin and Hanks Jr. as they signed their letters of intent to the University of Miami and Florida, respectively.

Unfortunately, despite turning in record numbers this past season for the Vikings, passing for 2,905 yards and 19 TD passes while rushing for nine more, Yapoor hasn’t been able to draw much interest from major schools. FIU showed modest interest but that’s up in the air now with Mike McIntyre getting fired. Other than that, a smaller school such as Tuskegee or Alabama State could be his final destination.

When asked whether he was frustrated or not, Yapoor took the spiritual route.

“Frustration? If I’m being completely honest there is no frustration because of my faith in God and the Lord,” Yapoor said. “I feel like what is meant for me and what is coming for me is something that I won’t even be able to imagine because that’s what it says in his word. In the end, I know that God is with me and no matter where I go, I am going to college and you will see me at the next level. The Lord will carve the path for me now.”