American Heritage withstands Bolles rally to reach Class 2M state championship
Mere minutes had past after Plantation American Heritage held off Jacksonville Bolles for a 21-14 win in a Class 2M state semifinal on Friday as Mike Smith huddled his players together in the end zone.
There was a moment of silence as the group corralled together, just about everyone on one knee, as their first-year head coach prepared to speak.
And then, Smith flashed a brief smile.
“OK,” Smith said, “now y’all can talk about it.”
American Heritage had been waiting for this moment, yearning to get back to this stage.
The Patriots are back in the state championship game, their sixth title in school history just one win away.
The team they will play in two weeks at Fort Lauderdale’s DRV PNK Stadium makes it that much sweeter.
Standing between American Heritage and the Class 2M crown is Miami Central, the team that knocked the Patriots out of the playoffs in the Class 5A regional semifinals a year ago en route to a third consecutive state title.
American Heritage has hoped for this matchup, a Dade-Broward state title game that doubles as a game between two of the country’s top-10 teams and a chance for the Patriots to get payback for their early playoff exit last season.
“We wouldn’t have wanted anyone but them,” said star running back Mark Fletcher. “It had to be them. We just have to finish the job.”
But it almost wasn’t to be. American Heritage (13-1) nearly saw its 21-0 lead slip away in the span of about five minutes in the middle of the fourth quarter.
Bolles (9-5) broke up the Patriots’ shutout bid with a 45-yard touchdown pass from Ethan Drumm to wide receiver Chase Collier to make the score 21-6 with 8:33 left to play. The Bulldogs then recovered an onside kick, marched 50 yards down the field and scored another touchdown to make the score 21-14 with 5:44 left on the clock.
“It’s what I’ve talked about all year. It’s the details,” Smith said. “We got sloppy with our details at the end. ... That’s a good football team over there and they’re going to take advantage of that.”
When American Heritage fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Bolles started at the Patriots’ 37-yard line, the Bulldogs had the opportunity to fully complete the comeback bid.
But the Patriots’ defense, which was dominant all night outside of those two drives, returned to form to close out the game.
Senior defensive back and North Carolina State commit Daemon Fagan intercepted a pass on fourth down with 3:26 left to play and then the defense forced another turnover on downs on Bolles’ final drive to seal the win.
“In high school, once that momentum swings, it’s tough to get it back,” Smith said, “but our guys did an unbelievable job of battling and fighting. Now, we’re going to get an opportunity here in two weeks to see what we can do.”
American Heritage entered halftime up 14-0 behind two touchdowns from Fletcher, who ran for 120 yards on 20 carries.
Both first-half touchdown drives came after American Heritage had a short field. Fletcher’s first touchdown, a 2-yard run, capped a three-play, 33-yard drive with 8:52 left in the first quarter that followed a short Bolles punt. His second touchdown, a 6-yard run with 3:43 left in the first half, came four plays after a Damari Brown interception that set American Heritage up at the Bolles 45-yard line.
The Patriots then pushed the lead to 21-0 after marching 80 yards on eight plays to open the second half, with senior quarterback Blake Murphy connecting with senior wide receiver Brandon Innis for a 38-yard touchdown to cap the drive.
Innis caught eight passes for 146 yards. Murphy completed 12 of 14 passes for 202 yards and the touchdown.
“We’re not done yet,” Fletcher said. “We’ve got to keep playing Heritage football. It feels good to be back, but it will feel better once we finish it.”
This story was originally published December 2, 2022 at 11:54 PM.
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