With a new head coach, Plantation American Heritage wants to ‘keep the same tradition going’

Mike Smith never envisioned this.

He knew the Plantation American Heritage team, the same team he had been around for a decade as a strength coach, was going to have a new head coach after Patrick Surtain left to become a defensive assistant for the Miami Dolphins.

Smith just didn’t think it would be him.

“Honestly,” Smith said, “...no. Even in the beginning, I was a little bit hesitant to take it just because I know what my role has always been there. That’s being the strength coach. I’ve always had my pulse on where our team was at, but it comes back to the tradition. I feel like I owed it to a lot of the guys that have come before me to just keep the same tradition going.”

That tradition is one of state championships. American Heritage has won five of them, all over the past decade. Smith has been a role player on the coaching staff for all of them, the first two under Mike Rumph in 2013 and 2014 before Surtain was promoted to head coach in 2016 and led the Patriots to three more titles in 2016, 2017 and 2020.

Now, Smith is the one leading the charge.

And just because it’s a new face leading the program, Smith doesn’t want much to change. The standard remains the same. The expectations remain the same.

“The process is the process,” Smith said. “We’ve tried to keep everything somewhat similar. I’ll put my own twist on a few things, but for the most part... it’s just keeping that Heritage way. That’s been the biggest focus, really. Just getting back to work.”

This comes with American Heritage having a bit of a chip on its shoulder this season. The Patriots are coming off a 6-4 season that ended in the regional semifinals. It was the first time they lost at least four games in a season since a 7-5 season in 2010.

“That left a very bad taste in our mouths,” senior running back and Ohio State commit Mark Fletcher said. “We’re more hungry. We’re more together as a team.”

Continuity on the roster and the coaching staff, Smith said, should help get American Heritage back on track.

While Smith is new at the top, the Patriots’ coordinators remain. Daryl Porter is still the defensive coordinator. Mario Perez is back as the offensive coordinator.

His roster also has more than two dozen seniors, many of whom have been part of the team since they were either eighth graders or freshmen.

“They got rings when they were sophomores,” Smith said of the senior class, “but that’s not your legacy. When you’re a senior and that’s your legacy, it’s a little bit of a different story.”

The path won’t be easy following the Florida High School Athletic Association’s Metro-Suburban classification realignment. American Heritage is in the new Class 2M which also features local powerhouses Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons (Class 4A state champions in 2020 and 2021), Miami Central (Class 5A champion in 2021), Miami Northwestern (Class 6A regional finalist in 2021), Miami Killian (Class 5A regional finalist in 2021), Miami Edison (Class 3A in 2021), Miami Gulliver Prep (Class 4A regional finalist in 2021) and Miami Booker T. Washington (Class 4A regional semifinalist in 2021).

The Patriots now share a district with Cardinal Gibbons, Stranahan and Hallandale. After opening the season against California powerhouse Los Alamitos (ranked No. 39 nationally by MaxPreps), American Heritage will also face state contenders in Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna (Sept. 16), Davie Western (Oct. 7) and Naples (Oct. 21) during the regular season.

They already made an early statement with a 38-20 preseason road win over Georgia high school powerhouse Lowndes.

Quarterback Blake Murphy completed 17 of 23 passes for 398 yards and four touchdowns, with star senior receiver and Ohio State commit Brandon Inniss getting the bulk of the action with six catches, 221 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Fletcher ran for 176 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

The defense, led by seniors Damari Brown, Dameon Fagan and David Vadala among others, recorded seven tackles for loss and had eight deflected passes.

The Smith era, whether he thought it would happen or not, is underway.

“I wasn’t expecting it,” Smith said. “I don’t even know if I was looking for it, but here we go.”