Brown tosses 3 TDs for Heritage
PLANTATION — Jason Brown threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth to lead nationally ranked American Heritage to a 42-7 win over Stranahan in a District 16-5A game Friday at South Plantation High.
The Patriots’ passing attack proved too much for the Dragons early in the game. Their proficiency through the air, coupled with favorable field position, allowed Heritage to leap out to a 23-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Heritage (5-1, 2-0), ranked 13th in the nation by USA Today, set the tone early with a big scoring strike on its second offensive possession. Having held the Dragons (2-3, 0-2) on downs on its own 30, Brown hit a wide open Dontavious Butler down the seam for a 70-yard touchdown, the longest play from scrimmage for the game.
In the second quarter, the Patriots padded their lead with a pair of touchdown receptions by Brandon Johnson. The first came on a 23-yard toss from Brown with 11 minutes to play in the half, resulting in the second one play scoring drive of the game for Heritage. Johnson capped the firsthalf scoring with a14-yard touchdown reception from Zach Rinker.
Brown finished with seven completions on 18 attempts for 124 yards. His final touchdown pass came on an 11-yard toss to Kyshaun Bryan on the first play of the fourth quarter. He did throw one interception which proved costly as the pick was returned 21 yards by Dewayne Jones in the second quarter for the Dragons’ only score of the game.
Butler had a pair of catches for 79 yards. Nick Eubanks, the Patriots’ Super 11 tight end, was held to one catch for nine yards.
The Dragons were paced offensively by running back Antonio Shepherd who had 15 carries for 57 yards.
— Tim Dwyer
PLANTATION 53, EVERGLADES 23: It was difficult to determine whether Plantation’s defense or offense had the better performance in the first half of its rout over visiting Everglades.
The Colonels (5-1, 3-0) defense forced the Gators’ offense to go three-andout on their first four possessions and Everglades (2-4, 0-2) did not pick up a first down until 7:05 of the second quarter, when Jakyus Johnson broke multiple tackles on a 51-yard catch-and-run from senior quarterback Javari Alvin.
Alvin completed only 5 of his 22 first-half attempts. The Gators went into halftime with just three first downs, but racked up 97 penalty yards en route to a 27-point halftime deficit.
Meanwhile, Plantation’s offense was equally impressive as the Colonels scored on four first half possessions, starting when sophomore quarterback Roshard Branch lofted a 56-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Robzel Sylvestre putting the Colonels up early 7-0. Later in the first quarter, the same combination capped off a 9-play, 57-yard drive for Plantation when they connected on a 5-yard scoring pass making it 15-0.
In the second quarter, Everglades drove inside Plantation territory for the first time in the game, but Bradley fumbled at the17. On the ensuing possession, the Colonels needed only three plays and 40 seconds to drive 83 yards. Jordan Johnson capped the possession with a 49-yard scamper to the end zone to make it 21-0.
The Colonels made it 27-0 just before halftime as Johnson plunged in from a yard out.
In the second half, Yvon St. Louis scored from 11 yards out on Plantation’s first possession to make it 34-0. Everglades broke through in the third quarter when backup quarterback Steve Williams scored on a 6-yard quarterback sneak, making it 34-7. Late in the third quarter, the Gators scored a safety as Branch was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone.
In the final quarter, Tyreek Akin-Cole scored on a pair of touchdown runs for Everglades. Meanwhile for Plantation, Branch threw for his third touchdown, Johnson ran for his third touchdown and Taletrius Bradley capped the high-scoring game with a 3-yard run.
Plantation stays atop the District 12-8A standings with the win and travels to Flanagan next week.