On a beautiful Friday night in Davie, Davi Belfort and the Western Wildcats played host to the American Heritage (Plantation) Patriots. It was a battle of two top Broward teams, and the matchup surely didn’t disappoint.
Family Connections
Talk about watching two talented quarterbacks, Western’s Davi Belfort and American Heritage’s Dia Bell were playing on the same field under the Friday Night Lights. But even more impressive, Belfort and Bell both have impressively famous fathers.
Belfort, a Virginia Tech commit, is one of the most followed high school athletes in all of Florida with over 135k Instagram followers. The three-star is the son of Vitor Belfort, who is one of the best UFC fighters of all time.
Meanwhile, Bell is a sophomore (’26) who already has offers to Florida, Miami, Penn State, etc. Bell is the son of Raja Bell, a former NBA player who played 12 seasons for six teams.
Speaking of family, Brandon Marshall, one of the best receivers of all time, was on the sideline to support his nephew, Western CB Mykel Marshall. Marshall is a six-time Pro Bowler, led the NFL in receiving touchdowns in 2015, and currently holds the NFL record for most receptions in a game (21).
It might not be family, but it’s definitely a strong connection. Miami Dolphins backup quarterback Mike White was also on the sideline to support Western. White’s left guard in high school is the offensive line coach at Western.
Recap
American Heritage started off with the ball but suffered a quick three-and-out.
On Western’s first offensive possession, Belfort threw a 50-yard touchdown to four-star WR Koby Howard to take an early 7-0 lead with 8:17 left in the first. Howard, who is part of the Class of 2025, has offers from Florida, Miami, FSU, Georgia, etc.
In the second quarter, American Heritage got on the board courtesy of a Gavin Harvey 31-yard field goal, making it 7-3.
With two minutes left in the first half, Belfort threw an interception to cornerback Gregory “Zae” Thomas to put American Heritage into great field position. Thomas, a junior, has offers from FSU, FAU, and Miami.
With 18 seconds left in the first half, Harvey made yet another field goal for the Patriots, making it only a one-point game heading into halftime.
Belfort threw his second interception of the game at the start of the third quarter. On a deep pass intended for Howard, Xavier Lucas recorded an interception to give American Heritage the ball again, down 7-6. Lucas, a three-star, is committed to Wisconsin.
Western still held their one point lead for basically the entire third quarter, but the lead diminished with 1:24 left in the third.
The Patriots picked off Belfort for a third time, but this time it proved harmful. Lucas recorded a huge pick-six for his second interception of the night, giving American Heritage their first lead of the night.
The Patriots went for the two-point conversion to make it a seven point game. American Heritage converted with four-star running back Byron Louis pushing up the middle and into the end-zone, making it 14-7. Louis, a junior, has offers from literally everywhere, including Georgia, FSU, Miami, and Ohio State.
Speaking of Louis, he extended American Heritage’s lead to 21-7 at the end of the third quarter thanks to a short run up the middle.
Western didn’t go silent as Belfort scored a touchdown run to begin the fourth quarter. The Wildcats were only down a touchdown with 11 minutes to play.
With 9:36 remaining in the game, American Heritage appeared to put this game out of reach. Four-star running back Deandre Desinor scored a 47-yard receiving touchdown, making it 28-14. The junior, who has offers from FSU, FAU, and Miami, showed off his speed as he ran down the sideline.
That ended up being the final score as American Heritage improved to 4-1 while Western dropped to 3-3 on the season.
Despite the 42 total points that were scored, it was a surprisingly defensive game for the first three quarters. Bell and Belfort did not have their best games, but a lot of credit has to be given to both defenses.
If we take away anything from this game, it has to be the terrific backfield that American Heritage has. It’s rare for a team to say that they have two four-star running backs in the same backfield. Byron Louis and Deandre Desinor, who both scored against Western, are incredible athletes. The offers should continue to pile in.
Also, Wisconsin has to be happy with the performance of their commit, Xavier Lucas, who recorded two interceptions and a crucial pick-six.
