American Heritage Plantation pulls past Jones to win Class 4A state championship

Patriots get TD pass and TD run from QB Malachi Toney, 2 TD runs from RB Byron Louis

American Heritage receiver Malachi Toney (1) gets to the sidelines after a long completion in a win against Western. Toney had two touchdowns in that game. He led the Patriots to their sixth state title on Dec. 13. / Joe Frisaro

The Florida High School Athletic Association's (FHSAA) high school football state championship series goes from The Villages in Mid-Central Florida down to the 305 in Dade County.

Friday night features one of the top matchups of state championship week when Jones and Plantation American Heritage clash for the Class 4A state championship.

High School On SI will be providing live updates all evening long as the Tigers and Patriots clash at Pitbull Stadium in Miami. 

(Keep refreshing page for live updates from the game)

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	F
Jones	7	3	14	7	31
Am Heritage	3	14	14	9	40

RECAP

MIAMI -- In a game of electrifying offensive plays, it took a defensive play to help American Heritage Plantation finish on top in its biggest game of the year.

With his team hanging onto a 37-31 lead against Jones with less than 9 minutes left in the Class 4A state championship game, American Heritage defensive lineman Isaac Tanis stripped Jones' Dereon Coleman on a designed quarterback run and recovered the fumble. Seven plays later, Gavin Harvey made the second of his two field goals -- this one from 28 yards out -- to push the Patriots out front 40-31 with 4:43 left,

That nine-point lead held up as American Heritage (12-2) forced Jones to turn the ball over on downs on its next possession and the Patriots went on to win their sixth state title, first since 2020.

It was a wild finish to a game that featured one lead change, two ties and plenty of offensive and even special teams fireworks. American Heritage quarterback Malachi Toney, a Miami signee as a wide receiver, completed 15 of 18 passes for 188 yards and one touchdown, and ran for a score. He completed his first 15 passes in a stellar performance, Teammate Byron Louis, a Florida signee at running back, ran for more than 180 yards and two TDs, including an 80-yard scoring burst in the fourth quarter that gave the Pats a 37-31 lead with 8:53 left.

American Heritage also got a spectacular 96-yard kickoff return from Brandon Bennett to open the second half and two field goals from Harvey.

Jones (14-1), which lost in a state final for the second time, got three TD runs from Coleman, a Miami commit who ran wild all night against the Patriots. Jaquail Smith also had a rushing TD and Kason Mullis boomed a 41-yard field goal.

"They kept believing, they kept fighting," American Heritage coach Mike Smith told the NFHS Network.

It was Jones that came out fighting, though, at the start. The Tigers mixed the run and the pass and went 75 yards for a TD, with Coleman capping things with a nifty 16-yard run up the middle with 7:34 left in the first quarter.

American Heritage answered with a Harvey field goal and then took the lead, 10-7, on a rocket from a Toney to Jamar Denson for a 26-yard TD with 9:09 left in the first half.

Jones came back right and got a 41-yard field goal from Mullis to tie things at 10-10 with 6:42 left. But American Heritage countered again when Toney scored on a 1-yard keeper around right end to cap an impressive 83-yard drive with 1:23 left in the first half. The Patriots led 17-10 at halftime.

The second half was a blitzkrieg with the schools combining for 44 points, 28 in the third quarter, alone.

Bennett started it off with his 96-yard kickoff return for American Heritage. But Jones stormed back behind Coleman, whose 40-yard scamper and long pass to Florida signee Vernell Brown set up his 1-yard TD run with 10:02 left in the third quarter. The Tigers trailed 24-17 at that point.

American Heritage then put together another monstrous drive capped by Louis' 3-yard TD run with 2:50 left, giving the Patriots a 31-17 lead. But Coleman responded again, gashing the Pats with the pass and the run before scoring on a 5-yard TD run with 1:11 left in the third quarter.

After forcing American Heritage to punt, Jones marched 55 yards to tie the score at 31-31 on a 5-yard TD run by Smith with 9:07 remaining in the game.

But American Heritage squashed Jones' momentum when Louis busted loose for a spectacular 80-yard TD run in which he shook off a tackler at the Tigers' 30-yard line. The Patriots, however, missed the ensuing extra-point kick and led 37-31 with 8:53 left.

Tanis then came up with the huge fumble recovery, Harvey made his second field goal and that was all she wrote for Jones.

PREGAME

Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Jones (14-0) is aiming for its first state championship. The Tigers are coached by former Florida and NFL standout Elijah Williams. This is their second state championship game appearance, having lost to Miami Northwestern, 34-17, in the Class 5A title contest in 2019.

Five-time state champ American Heritage is looking for its first title since 2020. The Patriots finished as state runner-up in 2022.

FIRST HALF

FIRST QUARTER

TOUCHDOWN! Miami QB commit Dereon Coleman darts 16 yards up the middle!! Tigers take 7-0 lead on opening possession! Jones 7, American Heritage 0, with 7:32 left 1Q.

FIELD GOAL: American Heritage's Gavin Harvey kicks 31-yard FG to cut Iones' lead to 7-3 with 2:11 left in the 1Q.

END OF FIRST QUARTER: Jones 7, American Heritage 3. Jones QB Dereon Coleman and AM Heritage QB Malachi Toney both putting on a show!

SECOND QUARTER

DEFENSE! American Heritage forces punt.

TOUCHDOWN! American Heritage QB Malachi Toney fires 26-yard dart to Jamar Denson, with 9:09 left in the 2Q. Heritage takes 10-7 lead over Jones.

FIELD GOAL! Kason Mullis booms 41-yard field goal to enable Jones to tie American Heritage at 10-10 with 6:42 left in the 2Q.

AMERICAN HERITAGE on the march behind the running of UF signee Byron Louis. Pats at Jones 4-yard line.

TOUCHDOWN! American Heritage QB Malachi Toney sprints 1 yard around right end for score!! AH 17, Jones 10, with 1:23 left in the 2Q.

American Heritage defense forces 3-and-out.

END OF FIRST HALF: American Heritage Plantation 17, Jones 10.

HALFTIME

OFFICIAL HALFTIME STATS: Jones 150 total yards, 117 rushing, 33 passing. Dereon Coleman 1 TD run, Kason Mullis 41 FG. American Heritage Plantation: 218 total yards, 70 rushing, 148 passing. Malachi Toney 12-of-12 for 148 yards, 1 TD, and 1 TD run, Gavin Harvey 31-yard FG.

SECOND HALF

THIRD QUARTER

TO THE HOUSE! American Heritage's Brandon Bennett explodes 96 yards on the second-half kickoff return for a touchdown! Patriots take 24-10 lead over Jones with 11:45 left in the 3Q,

JONES STRIKES BACK! Miami QB commit Dereon Coleman darts in the 1 on a keeper to cap an 80-yard drive. American Heritage 24 Jones 17 with 10 minutes left in 3Q,

AMERICAN HERITAGE on Jones 3-yard line with 2:55 left in the 3Q. Tigers defense holding,

TOUCHDOWN! Florida RB signee Byron Louis breaks tackle, scores on 3-yard TD run with 2:50 left in the 3Q, giving American Heritage a 31-17 lead over Jones.

TOUCHDOWN! Dereon Coleman does it again! Scores 3rd TD of the night on a 5-yard run with 1:09 left in the third quarter. American Heritage 31, Jones 24.

FOURTH QUARTER

AFTER JONES forces Am Heritage punt, Tigers march down the field and get a 5-yard TD run from Jaquail Smith. Jones 31, American Heritage 31 with 9:07 left.

TOUCHDOWN! UF signee Byron Louis explodes for 80-yard score!! 2nd TD run of the night gives American Heritage a 37-31 lead over Jones with 8:53 left in the game,

FUMBLE!! Jones QB Dereon Coleman on designed run is stripped by Isaac Tanis.

FIELD GOAL! American Heritage takes advantage of Jones turnover, drives to Tigers' 11-yard line tro set up 28-yard field goal by Gavin Harvey with 4:43 left. Patriots lead Jones, 40-31.

JONES comes up 1-yard shot on 4th-and-11 pass, turns the ball over on downs. American Heritage leads 40-31 with time running out.

AMERICAN HERITAGE wins 6th state championship, beating Jones, 40-31! It is the Patriots' first title since 2020! Jones finishes state runner-up for second time.

---

Follow High School On SI throughout the 2024 high school football season for Live Updates, the most up to date Schedules & Scores and complete coverage from the preseason through the state championships!

Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school football news.

Download the SBLive App

To get live updates on your phone - as well as follow your favorite teams and top games - you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App| Download Android App