American Heritage unleashes big plays in rout of Western

Dia Bell threw four TD passes and Byron Louis rushed for two touchdowns in lopsided Patriots win

American Heritage coach Mike Smith addresses his club after a comfortable 51-12 win against Western. / Joe Frisaro

PLANTATION, FLORIDA – For all the talent assembled at American Heritage, the Patriots still are striving to find their identity. 

On Friday, they gave a glimpse of what they're capable of when everything comes together.

Behind Dia Bell’s four touchdown passes and a pair of touchdowns each by Byron Louis and Malachi Toney, American Heritage rolled to a convincing 51-12 win over a very talented Western team.

The lopsided win was surprising since Western is regarded as one of the top teams in Class 7A. 

Heritage (1-1) is a perennial state title contender, and Friday’s performance showed why they are expected to be in the title picture in Class 4A.

“That’s still a good football team, and I’m happy with our performance tonight,” Heritage coach Mike Smith said.  

The Patriots are playing a brutally tough schedule. A week ago, they opened in the Broward County National Football Showcase, and lost 37-28 to national powerhouse Milton (Georgia) in a game televised on ESPN at St. Thomas Aquinas.

Next week, it doesn’t get any easier. Heritage will be on the road at Chaminade-Madonna, which was stunned, 35-34, in overtime on Friday against Blanche Ely.

“The schedule is crazy,” Smith said. “One game at a time. I’m sure there is a bunch to cleanup too from tonight.” 

American Heritage unleashed its explosive offense early and often.

In the first half, the Patriots scored touchdowns on all five of their possessions, and went into halftime ahead comfortably, 35-6.

Bell (Texas recruit) threw two touchdown passes in the opening half, and Louis rushed for two scores. 

On their first possession, Bell found Coi Jean-Noel on 50-yard pass play to start the game. That set up Louis’ first TD, a 5-yard run.

Showing their big play capability was a part of the Heritage game plan.

“That’s huge,” Smith said. “Especially coming off last week. We had to get back in rhythm. Listen, we lost to a good football team last week. And that’s a team that’s probably going to go undefeated this year.”

Jamar Denson, a speedster, hauled in a 41-yard scoring pass.

In the second quarter, Louis added a 5-yard TD run and Isaiah Calixte had a 1-yard TD run with 14 seconds left in the half.

“You’ve got to jump out on them,” Louis said. “We had to take control of the game early, because last year we were in a dog fight. Last year, that stuck with us, going into hostile territory, and it was a rough game.”

Louis, a 4-star back, expects to make his college decision on Sept. 21. The senior’s final four is, in no particular order -- Wisconsin, Georgia, Miami and Florida State.

“Coming off a loss to Milton, that also amped us up," Louis said. "We’re battling adversity. That either can break a team or make a team. It definitely made us closer, and brought us together. Tonight, I told Coach Mike, ‘we’ve got to jump on them fast.’ That’s what we did.”

A year ago, Heritage visited Western, and came away with a hard-fought, 28-14, win in a physical game. 

On Friday, it was the Patriots that jumped out early, and didn’t look back.

Western’s lone score in the first half came on Sebastian Circo’s TD strike to Calerbe Hermane. But the extra point attempt failed.

For Western (0-2), the night was a disappointment, because the Wildcats were looking to bounce back from a frustrating 17-14 loss to Hoover (Alabama) in the Broward Showcase. 

 After a lackluster first half, the Wildcats showed a spark in the third quarter, taking the kickoff and driving 72 yards for a touchdown. 

Circo had three completions for a combined 35 yards in the drive, and Western mixed in a couple of productive runs, and had a first down at the Patriots’ 23-yard line. 

Circo showed his athleticism, dashing 23 yards for the Wildcats’ second touchdown. However, the 2-point conversion try failed. 

Heritage’s quick-strike ability continued on its first possession of the second half. Bell hooked up again with Toney (junior Miami recruit) for a 55-yard pass play. And two plays later, it was Bell to Jean-Noel for 16-yards and another Patriots’ touchdown, padding the lead to 41-12.

After holding Western on downs, Bell engineered another scoring drive, finding Toney on a 5-yard pass play that made it 48-12, triggering the running clock. 

“That was the game plan,” Toney said of attacking downfield. “We just kept executing.”

American Heritage closed the scoring on Antonio Pasquatti’s field goal. 

With big play makers like Bell, Louis and Toney, the Patriots have the pieces to compete for a championship. Foremost, they have to stay healthy and focused.

“I know we have a good football team,” Smith said. “We just had to get back in rhythm.”