American Heritage Edges Dwyer

    The Delray-American Heritage Stallions completed an undefeated regular season and proved they were the best team in Palm Beach County this year with a 13-7 win over the Dwyer Panthers on Thursday night at The Corral. The defending Class 3A state champion Stallions are the only unbeaten team based in Palm Beach County and host Chaminade-Madonna in the first round of the playoffs next Friday. The Panthers will play in Oakland Park against the Northeast Hurricanes next week.
    There was no scoring by either team in the first quarter. American Heritage(10-0, 4-0) started their third possession from its seven-yard line with 4:00 to go in the first. Greg Bryant sprinted through with a 43-yard run on the second play to the Stallions 45-yard line. He would also add a 21-yard run later in the drive. Tyler Provo made a 26-yard reception to the Stallions 10-yard line at the end of the quarter. Four plays later, Greg Joseph kicked a 28-yard field goal with 10:28 left in the first half for a Stallions 3-0 lead.
    Dwyer(8-2, 4-1) began their next possession on their own 20-yard line. Rob Nittolo found Johnnie Dixon down the right sideline for a 42-yard completion to the Stallions 18-yard line. The Panthers failed to score on a fourth-and-goal at the one-yard line as Alonso Smith lost one yard on a run through the right side with 5:13 remaining.
    On the third play of the second half, Nittolo fumbled the ball when he was sacked by Evan Harvey. Rondarian Bell picked the ball up and scored from three yards out 25 seconds into the third quarter to give the Stallions a ten-point lead. Harvey transferred from Dwyer to American Heritage during the summer.
    Daniel Parr replaced Nittolo as quarterback at the beginning of the Panthers next drive. He threw passes down the field to Clint Stephens for three first downs as they charged into Heritage territory. He found Ezra Saffold for a three-yard touchdown reception to complete a seven-play, 71-yard drive with 7:52 to go in the third quarter.
    Early in the fourth quarter on a third-down play, Bryant caught a pass up the middle and almost broke through the secondary for a 33-yard gain to the Panthers 20-yard line. With 9:27 remaining in the fourth quarter, Joseph blasted a line-drive 35-yard field goal for an American Heritage 13-7 lead.
     The Panthers had one final shot on their last possession of the game. On a fourth-and-23 at the Stallions 43-yard line, Xavier Swinton intercepted a pass in the zone with five seconds left.