American Heritage returns to state finals for second time in three seasons

Able to overcome adversity and some second half anxiety, American Heritage now finds itself back in the state championship game.

The Patriots withstood a frantic St. Augustine comeback attempt on Friday night, and stamped their ticket to the Class 4A title game after defensive back Xavier Thomas returned an interception 80 yards for a score in the final two minutes.

Miami signee Malachi Toney threw two touchdown passes and rushed for another, and Heritage survived a scare from the Yellow Jackets, 38-28, in the state semifinals.

For it all, the Patriots will face Orlando Jones, 18-7 winners over Naples in the other semifinal, next Friday at Pitbull Stadium on the campus of Florida International University. The Class 4A title game is slated for 7:30 p.m.

“We’ve got one more,” Heritage coach Mike Smith said. “This is not the end game. We’ve got one more. I feel like we’ve been on a collision course with Jones for about 10 years now. We’ll get back to work on Monday. There’s nothing we haven’t seen at this point. So we’ve just got to play the game.”

For the second time in three seasons, Heritage (11-2) is playing for the state crown. In 2022, the Patriots came up short to Miami Central, 38-31, in Fort Lauderdale.

A year ago, Heritage’s season came to a close in the state semifinals, also at home, against Tampa Berkeley Prep, 17-14.

This year, Heritage appears to be a team of destiny. It actually didn’t look that way on Nov. 22, when they trailed Dillard by two touchdowns at halftime and then had star quarterback, Dia Bell, go down with a right leg injury early in the third quarter.

Toney, a star receiver and Miami signee, stepped in at quarterback and guided Heritage to a 24-14 win against Dillard. And last week, in the regional finals, with Toney calling the plays, the Patriots again came up big in a 35-14 victory over Norland.

“I’m driven a lot,” Toney said. “I’ve got a lot of fuel in me, from me fumbling on this big stage. I’m here to get it all back.”

As a freshman against Central, Toney lost a fumble in the waning moments that clinched the crown for the Rockets.

Now Toney is looking to give Heritage’s storied program another time. This time, he’s appearing in the championship game as a quarterback.

Just 1:54 into the game, Toney connected with Brandon Bennett on a 40-yard touchdown pass. Gavin Harvey’s extra point gave the Patriots a 7-0 lead.

But St. Augustine (11-2) never backed down.

Linebacker K’yon Wilcox sacked Toney for a safety in the first quarter.

Toney responded again with a 62-yard touchdown pass to Coi Jean-Noel, giving the Patriots a 14-2 lead.

The Yellow Jackets countered with Trendell Anderson’s scoring on a 25-yard run.

Toney padded the lead to 21-9 with a 2-yard touchdown run, and the lead grew to 28-9 at halftime on Coi Jean-Noel’s 15-yard touchdown catch.

But a seemingly comfortable 19-point lead wasn’t safe, as St. Augustine showed big play capability.

Two plays into the third quarter, quarterback Locklan Hewlett connected with Somourian Wingo on an 82-yard touchdown pass.

“That was my concern coming out,” Smith said, referring to starting the third quarter. “Even towards the end of the half, I knew they were going to get the ball first in the second half. That was the thing. Don’t let them score. Don’t let them get the big play. Sure enough. We come out and we give them the big play. Then you start thinking about the Football Gods.”

It got a little dicey for the Patriots.

Darrell Jenkins picked off Toney, and the Yellow Jackets were on the attack again.

Hewlett found Carl Jenkins on a 17-yard touchdown pass play, and the lead was 28-22 after the extra point was missed.

“But you know what? This team, once again, just the mental makeup,” Smith said. “They just continue to battle, and continue to trust each other, and then they find a way.”

In the fourth quarter, Heritage drove behind the rushing of Toney and Byron Louis, but the Patriots were unable to punch in a touchdown. Instead, Harvey booted a 24-yard field goal, making it 31-22 with 7:28 to go.

St. Augustine went to work, and drove to Heritage’s 11-yard line. But Hewlett’s lobbed pass towards Wingo was intercepted by Adonis Ferguson after the Patriots 4-yard line with 2:26 left in the fourth quarter.

As the Patriots were attempting to run out the clock, Louis fumbled at the 20, keeping the Yellow Jackets’ hope alive.

This time it was Thomas who came up big. The cornerback made a leaping interception and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown, making it a 16-point game with 1:15 left.

St. Augustine did score on Hewlett’s 20-yard scoring pass to Trenton Jones with two seconds left.

“That’s kind of the story of our whole season,” Thomas said. “We get something good and adversity comes in. But I think that’s something we’ve learned as a team. Never fold. In the face of adversity, we just keep going.”