Heritage is back in title game on last-second FG

Chris Maron said he’s done it “a million times.”

“We practice that kick week after week after week, so tonight was just like practice as far as I was concerned,” he said.

Well, it wasn’t quite like practice for Maron because on Friday, when the kicker trotted out onto the field, there was a whole lot more at stake. With the score tied and three seconds left on the clock, there was a berth in the Class 5A championship on the line.

Maron lined up for the 40-yard field-goal attempt and, with Julian Ramirez holding, swung his right leg and coolly rifled the ball right down the middle of the uprights. His Plantation American Heritage teammates swarmed the field and mobbed Maron. After trailing by 13 in a turnover-plagued first half, American Heritage knocked off Tampa Jesuit 16-13 in the Class 5A semifinals at Heritage Field.

The Patriots, who won four state titles in five years from 2013-2017, are now back for the first time since 2017.

Heritage (10-2) will take on hometown favorite Tallahassee Rickards in the 5A title game Friday at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee.

“That kid is the best kicker in the state, man,” coach Patrick Surtain said. “He works hard at his craft, wants to be good, and I had every confidence in the world he was going to walk out there and nail that thing. I don’t think he’s missed a kick in a month, game or practice, and we were confident if we could just get it in field goal range, we’d win it.”

That’s exactly what happened.

The Patriots, who struggled offensively most of the night and committed five turnovers, came through with a clutch drive when they needed it.

Starting at their own 40-yard line with 4:21 left, they drove 37 yards downfield in eight plays — including a 19-yard completion from quarterback Blake Murphy to star wide receiver Oronde Gadsden II on third-and-8 from their own 42.

With the ball on Jesuit’s 23, Surtain used his last timeout to send out Maron. Even after Tigers coach Matt Thompson tried to ice Maron by calling two timeouts, it didn’t matter. He drilled the kick to send the Patriots to the state final, where they’ll have an opportunity to win a fifth championship.

“I knew they would try and freeze me, but it was no big deal. I figured they would try and do that,” Maron said. “I’m good at just blocking things out and staying in the moment, and that’s what I did. It felt good when I kicked it, but to be honest, I didn’t even see it go through. I had everybody already running at me, so I figured it was good.”

With his team trailing 13-3 at halftime, American Heritage was ripe for an upset until star running back Mark Fletcher took over. The Pats offense kept grinding away in the second half, chewing up yards and possession time, eventually evening the score on a 23-yard chip shot and a 35-yard touchdown run by Fletcher with 3:15 left in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, the Heritage defense continued to stymie Jesuit. The Tigers

(13-1) never came any closer than the Patriots’ 42 in the second half.

“We sure made it hard on ourselves, but I guess we wouldn’t want it any other way,” Surtain said.

After turning the ball over four times in the first half, Heritage lost it one last time when Fletcher, who finished with 178 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries, coughed it up at the Jesuit 12 with 6:23 left. But, as it did most of the night, the Heritage defense got a three-and-out and Jesuit punted the ball back, setting up the game-winning drive.

“No matter how many yards I had, this thing was on me because of those two fumbles I left on the ground,” said Fletcher, who also lost a fumble in the first half. “It would’ve been a tough thing for me to live with had we lost this one, but my teammates picked me up and we found a way to win this thing.

“What a great feeling to be playing for a state title.”