American Heritage completes quest for redemption by securing elusive state championship
Call it the final stop on a two-year redemption tour for the Plantation American Heritage football team.
Driving the proverbial bus on that road was wide receiver and University of Miami signee Malachi Toney.
Two years ago as a freshman, Toney experienced heartbreak when he fumbled in the closing seconds of a state championship game loss to Miami Central.
On Friday night at Pitbull Stadium, Toney felt nothing but joy as he let loose and joined his teammates in a wild celebration on the field following a 40-31 victory over previously unbeaten Orlando Jones High in the Class 4A championship game.
“It’s fitting how we ended this thing,” said American Heritage coach Mike Smith, who won his first state title as the Patriots’ head coach. “The adversity that kid battled through. He put the ball on the ground on the 28-yard line against Central two years ago and cried like a baby. For him to come back and do this, you can’t make this up. Hollywood couldn’t have written this ending better.”
The Patriots (12-2) won their first state title since 2020 and sixth overall. While four years may not seem like a long title drought, it felt like much longer for a Heritage squad, which overcame a lot over the past two seasons to return to the top.
Two years after that loss to Central in the final, Heritage came up short again last year after another deflating loss in the state semifinals to eventual state champion Tampa Berkeley Prep.
With a Miami Dolphins-themed wrestling championship belt draped over his shoulder, Toney took in much more joyous emotions he felt following a postseason run in which he kept Heritage on course by switching to play quarterback - a position he played in youth football growing up - in the wake of a season-ending injury to starting quarterback and University of Texas commit Dia Bell.
Toney, who caught 58 passes for 1,008 yards and 12 touchdowns as a receiver this season, led Heritage to a comeback win over Fort Lauderdale Dillard in the regional semifinals and later wins over Miami Norland and St. Augustine as the Patriots starting quarterback.
Against Jones, Toney completed his first 15 passes before finishing 15 of 18 for 188 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He also ran for a touchdown. In the playoffs, Toney completed 38 of 54 passes for 524 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception.
“It was really nothing. I’m a football player and I’m here to do whatever my team needs me to do,” Toney said. “It feels great. After that fumble, everyone counted me out and said I wouldn’t be back. Now look at me. I led my team to a state title at quarterback.”
Toney’s journey was certainly remarkable.
But he was hardly the lone hero for Heritage on Friday night.
Senior running back and University of Florida signee Byron Louis came up huge, rushing for 221 yards and two touchdowns including an 80-yard go-ahead touchdown run, which broke a 31-31 tie with 8:54 left in the fourth quarter.
“I just let the offensive linemen do their thing and I just ran,” Louis said. “I saw (the defender) behind me and I knew he wasn’t gonna catch me. It was a big play, but that’s what we expect. I never expected (Jones) to lay down. We knew we had to play all four quarters. I knew I had to keep my composure.”
And there was junior defensive tackle Isaac Tanis, who sacked Jones quarterback and Hurricanes signee Dereon Coleman, stripped him of the ball and recovered the fumble at the Fightin’ Tigers’ 34-yard line on their ensuing drive.
The turnover allowed Heritage to consume more time off the clock and take a two-score lead when kicker Gavin Harvey connected on a 28-yard field goal with 4:45 left.
“I saw that back coming up. I knew my job was to stay outside and I did it,” Tanis said. “The ball just came out. All credit to God. I felt the ball on my thigh. It’s gotta be there right now. I can’t even describe this.”
There was also junior receiver Brandon Bennett, who returned the second half opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to put Heritage ahead 24-10.
And Jamar Denson, who caught a game-high six passes for 86 yards and a 26-yard touchdown from Toney.
Jones, however, wouldn’t relent.
Coleman finished with 110 yards and three touchdowns rushing as well as 143 yards passing on 13 of 22 attempts. Coleman scored the last of his touchdown runs with 1:09 left in the third. After Heritage was forced to punt, Jones drove again and tied the game on Jaquail Smith’s 8-yard touchdown run with 9:07 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Heritage, however, once again showed its resilience during those final nine-plus minutes.
Jones’ last-ditch comeback drive came up short on downs when Vernell Brown Jr. caught a 10-yard pass from Coleman on 4th and 11, turning the ball over to Heritage.
“After that schedule we played and all the adversity we went through, those kids did an unbelievable job,” Smith said. “I have the best coaches in America too. They just kept battling and for (Tanis) to make that play at the end, it just sums up our season.”
▪ Class 6A final - West Boca Raton 26, Kissimmee Osceola 7: West Boca Raton only had seven first downs on Friday afternoon. But three big plays were all the Bulls needed to knock off Kissimmee Osceola and complete a remarkable perfect 15-0 season, which included a forfeit win over Davie Western.
West Boca, which entered this year’s playoffs with only two postseason wins in the 20-year history of the program, completed its five-game playoff run by nailing the Kowboys with three long touchdown passes.
First came early in the game when quarterback Mason Mallory found Kyle Andrews open deep for a 60-yard scoring toss and 7-0 lead.
Leading 13-7 in the final minute of the third quarter, Mallory lofted a pass down the far sideline that Mark Hanniford went up between two defenders and came down with. He then broke free and went the final 20 yards to complete the 47-yard touchdown to make it 19-7 going to the fourth.
The Bulls salted everything away with 3:15 left in the game when Trey Moran, the team’s alternate QB who had only thrown one pass in the game, rolled to his right from his own end zone and found Hanniford alone behind the Osceola secondary.
Hanniford reeled the pass in in stride at midfield and sprinted to the end zone to complete a 93-yard touchdown, the longest touchdown pass in championship game history. It surpassed a 92-yarder from Miami Booker T. Washington’s Daniel Richardson to Darrius Scott in a 2015 victory over Jacksonville Raines.
Osceola, which won it’s only state title in 1998, has now lost its last five attempts in the championship game and finished 12-3.
BILL DALEY
This story was originally published December 14, 2024 at 12:18 AM.
