American Heritage fills its schedule with Florida flagbearers

Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage is all in for the 2014 season.

A year after a 15-1 campaign which resulted in a Class 5A state title and No. 18 finish in the HSFB100, the Patriots have added four Florida bluebloods to its schedule that could push it to No. 1 without playing an out-of-state game.

According to sources within the program the team has finalized negotiations with Apopka (Fla.) High for its Week 8 opening which will fill its slate of games.

The team will open with West Palm Beach (Fla.) Dwyer on ESPN, Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas at Sun Life Stadium, and against Miramar (Fla.) High all before the middle of September.

The game against Apopka will replace the contest against Miami (Fla.) Columbus but was moved from Week 3 to Week 8.

Dwyer is the defending Class 7A champions and ended the 2013 season ranked No. 13 in the HSFB100. St. Thomas Aquinas ended the year No. 48 and pushed Dwyer to the brink in the playoffs. The Raiders are also the 2008 HSFB100 National Champions and 2010 runners-up. Miramar had ranked as high as No. 19 in the country before a stunning upset in the playoffs.

All three programs are expected to be ranked in the preseason Top 10 state rankings.

American Heritage kept its contests with Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna, Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland, district foe Miami (Fla) Jackson, and Jacksonville (Fla.) Bolles as the holdovers from its 2013 seasons.

Mainland was ranked No. 56 at the end of last season and Bolles has historically been a very tough opponent.

The game against Apopka will be played in the Orlando suburb and is expected to be a strong mid-season test. The Blue Darters are coming off of a season which saw it suffer a major injury to its quarterback but rebound to make the Class 8A finals and finishing the season ranked No. 46 in the HSFB100.

The remaining games will be against Delray Beach (Fla.) American Heritage to replace Key West (Fla.) High which went independent, a district game against Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons, and a return contest versus Lakeland (Fla.) Kathleen.

Expectations are high for American Heritage despite the departure of five-star running back Sony Michel, four-star receiver Isaiah McKenzie, a pair of three-star defensive tackles in Justin Sibole and Edgar Sibole, as well as defensive backs Juwan Dowels and Carter Jackson, and offensive lineman Nathan Kirchmier.

Head coach Mike Rumph returns the top-ranked dual-threat quarterback according to 247Sports in Torrance Gibson as well as a five-star defensive back, Tavarus McFadden.

The team also boasts defensive backs Deonta Fair and Nick Pert as well as linebacking group of Christian Irving and Anthony Flory among its Class of 2015 prospects.

Its junior class has a pair of BCS-level receivers in Dredrick Snelson and Brandon Johnson as well as offensive lineman Louis Berkowitz.

Boosting the expectations for the program is the addition of nine transfers following a mass exodus from Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) University School — a number that could grow to 11 before the season starts.

The team had been in negotiations with Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman as well as Birmingham (Ala.) Shades Valley before deciding that Apopka was a more cost effective while equally competitive opponent.

The Varsity Board: Can American Heritage run the table and win a HSFB100 Title?