American Heritage needed two big stops to hold off Cardinal Gibbons. Its defense delivered

The Plantation American Heritage Patriots know their identity at this point in the season. Starting quarterback Blake Murphy is sidelined with a collarbone injury and a one-dimension, run-heavy offense can only go so far.

If the Patriots want to make a deep run in the FHSAA Class 5A playoffs, they’re going to have to rely on a stingy defense and timely plays on special teams.

That strategy worked on Friday against Cardinal Gibbons in the Patriots’ penultimate tune-up game before the postseason begins.

Safety and Miami Hurricanes commit James Williams blocked a field goal and returned it for a touchdown early in the second half, kicker/punter Chris Maron made three field goals and made a couple game-changing punts, and American Heritage’s defense made a pair of big stops in the game’s final minutes en route to a 23-17 win.

American Heritage improves to 5-1 on the year. Cardinal Gibbons, which upset St. Thomas Aquinas last week, lost its first game of the year and falls to 3-1.

“Great win for us,” Patriots coach Patrick Surtain said. “If we would have lost this game, it would have been really upsetting because it shouldn’t have been this close. It shouldn’t have been this close. Just too many mental errors. ... But we hung in there. Like I tell the kids, football is a comedy of errors. They’re 15- to 18-year-old kids. They’re gonna make mistakes. As long as you keep fighting until there are zeroes on the clock - win, lose or draw - I’m proud of these guys.”

A back-and-forth first half that ended with American Heritage holding a 13-7 lead before the Patriots took command of the game.

American Heritage went up 20-10 less than three minutes into the second half after Williams blocked a 22-yard field goal attempt from Cardinal Gibbons kicker Chris Silverstien, scooped up the ball and charged 90 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. They added a field goal one drive later after a Daemon Fagan interception set them up with a short field. Cardinal Gibbons had the field goal attempt after getting a short field following defensive back Isaiah Farris’ interception two plays into the third quarter. Farris had two interceptions for the Chiefs.

Cardinal Gibbons, however, took advantage of a botched punt later in the quarter that allowed them to start a drive in the red zone. It ended with sophomore running back Torrence Miller scoring a 6-yard rushing touchdown with 25 seconds left in the third quarter to bring the score to 23-17.

American Heritage’s defense stood tall from there, stopping two Cardinal Gibbons attempts to rally.

On the first attempt, the Chiefs put together a 12-play drive that started from their 7-yard line and got them to the American Heritage red zone. They went through the air, with quarterback Brody Palhegyi throwing back-to-back completions to Clemson commit Troy Stellato. They went on the ground, with Miller converting one third down attempt and Palhegyi scrambling to move the chains again three plays later. It ended, however, with Williams stripping Miller and the American Heritage defense falling on the ball in the end zone.

The Patriots had to punt six plays later, giving Cardinal Gibbons one last chance to complete the comeback.

The Chiefs had 2:29 on the clock and 60 yards to go. Palhegyi threw back-to-back completions to Arthur Jenkins, the latter of which had Palhegyi throwing across his body while under pressure, to get Cardinal Gibbons to the American Heritage 12-yard line. Palhegyi scrambles on first down for a yard, then throws an incomplete pass intended for Stellato. They get nothing on third down either, setting up a fourth-and-9. Palhegyi steps up in the pocket and throws to his left. American Heritage bats the ball down in the end zone to seal the win.

“They had us on the ropes a little bit,” Surtain said, “but we rely on our defense to come up with plays like that. They’re our backbone. When we’re in that position, we feel like our defense is going to make a play. They did it twice today.”

American Heritage closes its regular season at St. Thomas Aquinas on Nov. 6. Cardinal Gibbons hosts Archbishop McCarthy.