Two District 16 rivals in Class 5A will face each other in a playoff rematch as the American Heritage Patriots travel across Broward County and challenge the Cardinal Gibbons Chiefs at Dr. Bud Tight Field, known as The Furnace, in a regional final on Friday night. American Heritage won a triple overtime classic 58-57 over Cardinal Gibbons in a regional final last year. The Chiefs finally stopped an 11-game losing streak to the Patriots with a 24-14 road victory in Plantation earlier this season.
American Heritage(10-1) is the two-time defending FHSAA Class 5A state champions and have captured the state title four of the last five years. The Patriots had to take the tough path with road wins over Fort Pierce Westwood 37-14 in a regional quarterfinal and Region 4 top seed Rockledge 31-14 in a regional semifinal. They have outscored their last four opponents 142-48.
The Patriots have an offense that can split evenly between the run and the pass. Running backs Tyler Jones and Lavelton Williams will both get their rushing opportunities. Quarterback Edwin Rhodes looks to connect passes to wide receivers Douglas Emilien and Tyler March along with tight end Beau Johnson downfield.
Cardinal Gibbons(10-2) have won 10 consecutive contests after losing two games to Miami Central and Milton to start the regular season. The Chiefs beat Merritt Island 49-14 in a regional quarterfinal and barely got by Jones 30-27 last week in a regional semifinal. They have outscored their last 10 opponents 331-103.
The Chiefs returned just about all of their skilled players on offense from last year. Quarterback Nik Scalzo had an ACL injury and his season is over. Their other quarterback Brody Palhegyi can find wide receivers Dimon Stewart, Dijon Senior, Troy Stellato, Nikolas Ognenovic and Chris Benestad on passes. Running backs Vincent Davis and Tajae Davis are expected to get carries from the backfield.
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