South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Getting their kicks from Maron
Field goal sends Patriots into 5A title contest
PLANTATION — Chris Maron didn’t see the biggest moment of his high school career.
American Heritage’s senior kicker lined up to kick a 41-yard field goal with three seconds left in a 13-13 game. He swung his right foot at the ball, and all he saw was a swarm of players.
“I’m going to be honest with you: I didn’t even see it,” Maron said. “I just saw everybody run at me.
“I kicked it, I looked up and I just saw a flash of white things come in my face and then everybody screaming on our sidelines, yelling my name.”
Maron may not have seen the result of his kick, but everyone else did. What they saw was the ball sail through the uprights to give the Patriots a 16-13 win over Tampa Jesuit in the Class 5A state semifinals. Maron’s kick put American Heritage back in the state championship game after a two-year absence.
“It’s a great feeling,” Maron said. “I haven’t even taken it in yet.”
American Heritage nearly prevented itself from going to the title game.
The Patriots turned the ball over five times in their win — three times on interceptions, twice on fumbles. The only time Jesuit scored an offensive touchdown came after a fumble gave the Tigers the ball at the Patriots 25-yard line.
Jesuit, which entered the game undefeated, went up 13-0 on a pair of first-quarter touchdowns. Tigers wide receiver Junior Vandross scored on a punt return and then hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joseph Pesansky.
But despite the turnovers American Heritage’s defense kept Jesuit from capitalizing on mistakes. The Patriots chipped away at the Tigers’ lead, with Maron hitting field goals in the second and third quarter. But American Heritage struggled most of the game to get into the end zone.
“It’s frustrating,” sophomore running back Mark Fletcher said. “All that preparation you put in, and things don’t go your way.
“It’s frustrating, but that’s what happens when you play good teams, and it’s only going to get harder. But we’re built for it.”
Fletcher, a sophomore running back, provided the bulk of the Patriots offense, rushing for 177 yards on 27 carries. After several near misses and a touchdown run that was called back on a penalty, he finally broke through with a 40-yard TD run that tied the game 13 -13 in the third quarter.
“It felt amazing,” Fletcher said. “It’s a great feeling. But we had to finish the game.
And that [touchdown is] not on me; it’s that O-line.”
The Patriots were poised to take the lead in the fourth quarter, getting to the Tigers 14 before Fletcher fumbled and turned the ball over.
Jesuit took over with 6:58 left in the quarter, but Heritage’s defense forced a punt. The Patriots drove from the Tigers’ 40 to the Jesuit 24-yard line, setting up Maron’s game-winner.
American Heritage is seeking its fifth state title and first since 2017. The Patriots will face Tallahassee Rickards in the Class 5A title game at 7 p.m. on Friday at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee.
“They kept fighting,” Patriots coach Pat Surtain said. “That’s why I love our group.”