PALM BEACH GARDENS – Trailing by six at halftime to Benjamin (9-2) on the road, the plan for American Heritage Delray (8-3) in the second half was simple: stick with what has worked all season.
The Stallions did exactly that, using running back Dallis Small for total of 29 times to move the ball on offense and get the defense into advantageous positions to make stops and win the game.
While the Stallions had to wait until the closing minutes of the fourth quarter for this plan to pay off, it eventually would as the Stallions defeated the Buccaneers 23-19 to advance to the Class 3A Region 4 Final, where a matchup against top-seeded Chaminade-Madonna awaits.
Much like the Stallions victory over Calvary Christian just a week prior, most of their offensive output came from Dallis Small, who ran for 260 yards and three touchdowns on his 29 carries. Following the game, American Heritage coach Keith Hindsley had no doubts Small could perform like this.
“Ever since he got to Heritage, he’s been our guy,” Hindsley said of Small’s performance. “The offensive line did a good job of giving him a chance to break some tackles and get upfield.”
Early in the game, the story was different from the end result. Before American Heritage got a chance to score, Benjamin was in the red zone and threatening to score two different times. Both times, however, the Stallions defense was able to hold the Buccaneers to two Lowell Carr field goals, giving the Bucs an early 6-0 lead.
After going down 13-0, a long kick return into Bucs territory allowed Small to score his first touchdown from three yards out, cutting the halftime lead for the Bucs to 13-7.
To open up the second half, four-star recruit Ka’iir Elam broke a few tackles in the open field and returned the kickoff 95 yards into the end zone. Midway through the third quarter, Small would respond with a 75-yard touchdown, his second of the game.
Backed up to their own end zone, Benjamin opted to intentionally take a safety on fourth down as opposed to punting the football, cutting the Bucs lead to 19-16.
The score would remain that going into the fourth quarter. Despite the Stallions being down and the Bucs having the football, Hindsley’s message to his team at halftime seemed fitting.
“Get us to the fourth quarter,” Hindsley said about his halftime message. “We’re a fourth quarter-team. We win games in the fourth.”
Driving in the fourth quarter and down near Benjamin’s goal line, the Stallions almost ruined their best chance to win the game when a botched snap was recovered by Bucs linebacker Michael Lobosco. The turnover gave the Bucs the ball at their own 11-yard line and a chance to win the game with a touchdown.
However, the Bucs would fail to score and would be forced to punt to Deion Small, Dallis’ brother, who returned it 25 yards to the Bucs 20-yard line.
The punt return set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Dallis Small, his third touchdown of the game. The score gave the Stallions their first lead of the game and secured the win for the Stallions.
Following the victory over Benjamin on their home turf, the energy around the Stallions was described as “electric” by Dallis Small.
“Man, there’s a lot of energy. We faced a lot of adversity,” Small said following the game. “We came back. We grinded.”
