DELRAY BEACH – Ruben Navarro had a senior season to remember.

The American Heritage (Delray Beach) 2020 linebacker will look back at these past several months and be proud of himself in more ways than one. He finished his high school football career with 105 tackles (20 tackles for loss), 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries in 11 games played.

And a few months after his breakout campaign, Navarro found a college home at Hobart. He made his final call on April 12.

“Hobart is a school where I believe I can be successful in the classroom and out on the football field,” Navarro said. “The football program is built off of young men who pride themselves in working with one another. Whether it is on the football field or in the classroom, everyone is working to be the best version of themselves.”

Navarro had more to say about Hobart.

“The culture there is incredible,” he continued. “On top of that, Hobart is a great school academically. The teachers are there to help the students achieve their students. The tight knit family of the school as a whole was really the biggest factor into my decision, especially since I would be traveling so far from home.”

The 5-foot-10, 190-pound linebacker spoke on his visit to the Division III institution, which is located in Geneva, New York. It took place on the weekend of Feb. 8-9, roughly two months before he decided to spent his next few years there.

“It went very well,” Navarro said. “It was my first time ever seeing snow. That was awesome to see. I stayed with a couple of players on the team, and they really made me feel at home. The coaches and players took me all around the campus and gave me a really good idea of what it was like on campus at Hobart. I loved the football facilites and the town the school is located in. It really felt like home away from home.”

Going back to Navarro’s senior season, there were two games in particular that stood out for college coaches to see. Both contests were in the regular season, and they were quality wins over Benjamin (Week 6; 20-13 road triumph) and Bishop Verot (Week 8; 17-14 home victory).

Navarro’s best individual game of the season came against Bishop Verot. He tallied an eye-popping 18 tackles) 4 tackles for loss), 2 sacks (strip sack late in the fourth quarter) and 1 forced fumble.

“With about a minute and a half left, I had clutch tackles on third and fourth down to give us the ball back,” Navarro said. “And then we drove down and scored on a go-ahead field goal.”

Navarro also spoke on the Benjamin game, which resulted in him having 13 tackles (2 tackles for loss) and 1 forced fumble.

“There was a lot of hype going into the game,” Navarro said. “It was on TV and we had a little rivalry going with Benjamin from the playoffs the year before. Our defense shut down what was supposed to be one of the best offenses in Palm Beach County. In the third quarter we had a couple of goal line stands, and we were able to give out offense the boost it needed to get us up 20-7. Then our defense held the lead and we won. We all got on TV with the big CW Rivals trophy, which was cool.”

The Heritage wins over Benjamin and Bishop Verot marked the start and end of a three-game winning streak, which put the team at 5-2 and in position for a first-round playoff bye in the Class 4A playoffs.

The Stallions got that despite finishing the regular season on a three-game losing streak. Those quality losses were to Champagnat Catholic (20-15 loss to the eventual 2A state champion), Cardinal Newman (35-21 loss to the 3A rival), and Gulliver Prep (34-13 loss to the 4A state title contender).

American Heritage’s season ended with a 5-6 record, which culminated with a humbling 33-16 home loss to 4A state title contender Tampa Catholic in the 4A-Region 3 semifinal round.

Navarro recapped his senior season in his own words.

“We started off very strong but as the season went on, the injuries added up and really hurt our team,” Navarro said. “Despite that, we worked every day to be the best and beat some really good teams. We were able to make it to the second round of the playoffs. Although we didn’t make it as far as we would’ve liked, the season taught me lots of lessons. I couldn’t ask for more from my last season as a Stallion.”

American Heritage assistant coach Henry Colombi was impressed with the overall level of growth that Navarro showed as a senior.

“Ruben is an outstanding linebacker who had a tremendous career at American Heritage,” Colombi said. “He’s also going to do great on the next level. We’re looking forward to his continued success.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Hobart Football