DAVIE — American Heritage senior Xavier Lucas has made a seamless transition from free safety to cornerback.
The 6-foot, 170-pounder intercepted two passes, including one acrobatic grab that he returned 28 yards for the go-ahead score with 1:24 remaining in the third quarter as the Patriots (4-1) rallied for a come-from-behind 28-14 victory over host Western (3-3) on Friday night.
“It was a big change with everything coming from the outside in,” said Lucas, who only had one interception entering the game. “It took some getting used to. Last year, I didn’t get no picks, but I am going to keep playing the game I love and dominate.”
Western, which entered the game on a two-game winning streak, took a 7–0 lead on a 52-yard touchdown pass from Davi Belfort to Koby Howard with 8:25 remaining in the first quarter. The score capped a five-play, 67-yard drive.
American Heritage, ranked No. 20 in the country, struggled offensively most of the first half and were only able to muster 31- and 30-yard field goals by Gregory Thomas to trail 7-6 at the half.
The Patriots’ second field goal was set up by an interception by Zae Thomas with 2:05 remaining in the first half. American Heritage, coming off a 48-7 win over district rival Cardinal Gibbons a week ago, finished the night with four takeaways — three interceptions and a fumble recovery.
American Heritage coach Mike Smith told his team following the game that they had to get better.
“Winning is hard,” he told them with the scoreboard in the background. “I don’t think you realize how hard it is to win. Not every game is going to be 48-7 like it was last week.”
“That’s a good football team over there and they did a good job of coaching them up,” Smith said referring to the Western staff. “More than anything, they made it tough on us…every game has a different personality. Just because we were rolling last week and clicking offensively, doesn’t mean that is going to happen this week.”
American Heritage made it 21-7 following a fumble recovery by sophomore defensive end Rodarion Tellez on the Wildcats’ 10. Junior running back Byron Louis carried three straight times, the final one from 2 yards out to extend the lead with 10 seconds left in the third.
Western cut the deficit to 21-14 on a 14-yard run by Belfort, however the Patriots scored on the ensuing series on a 48-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Dia Bell to junior running back Deandre Desinor to give the game its final score with 9:36 left in the game. Belfort finished the game with 106 rushing yards and 107 passing yards.
“I knew it was time for me to make a play and the game was close,” Desinor said. “This is a pretty good win, and I knew we would get the job done.
“At halftime we just talked about the offense having to step up and make plays because the defense was doing their thing,” he concluded. “On my score, I saw my receivers blocking and I got happy. I had to get in. I just had to make one person miss and ran into the end zone.”