American Heritage’s player comes out to the field during their match against Miami Norland game, at the Heritage Field (Bill Laurie Stadium), in Plantation, Florida, on Friday October 09, 2026.
Pedro Portal
pportal@miamiherald.com
Plantation American Heritage had the opportunity to pull away from district opponent Miami Norland early in the third quarter on Friday.
The Patriots seized the opportunity.
After Norland saw a 42-yard field goal attempt fall short, American Heritage marched down the field, with senior running back Jonathan Bueno punctuating the drive with a 62-yard touchdown run.
The Patriots never looked back on the way to a 27-2 home win over the Vikings.
American Heritage, ranked No. 18 in the state by MaxPreps entering the week, improved to 4-3 on the season and 2-0 in district play. It can wrap up the district title with a win in two weeks at Hollywood McArthur on Oct. 23. Norland falls to 3-4 and went 2-1 in district play.
American Heritage’s player (QB) Neimann Lawrence (8) runs the ball against Norland’s players, during their match against Miami Norland game, at the Heritage Field (Bill Laurie Stadium), in Plantation, Florida, on Friday October 09, 2026. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
American Heritage’s lead was rarely tested on Friday night, with the Patriots executing effectively on both sides of the ball.
After each team punted on its opening drive, American Heritage opened scoring with a nine-play, 62-yard drive capped with a short touchdown from quarterback Neimann Lawrence to Marcus Smith with 5:27 left in the first quarter.
The Vikings got their only points later in the quarter due to a rare Patriots mishap. With American Heritage set to punt deep in its own territory, the snap sailed over the Patriots punter’s head and into the back of the end zone for a safety.
From there, it was all American Heritage.
Lawrence, a Texas commit and four-star prospect in the Class of 2028, threw three touchdowns total in the win. His 19-yard strike to Michael Stringer late in the second quarter gave American Heritage a 14-2 lead entering halftime and his second touchdown toss to Smith early in the fourth quarter capped scoring.
The defense intercepted two passes — with Jeffrey Oneal Jr. and Amare Nugent coming down with the picks in the first and third quarter, respectively — and was consistently applying pressure in the Norland backfield.
American Heritage’s player (RB) Michael Stringer (1) scores a touchdown, during their match against Miami Norland game, at the Heritage Field (Bill Laurie Stadium), in Plantation, Florida, on Friday October 09, 2026. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
The Patriots took advantage of short fields, with two of their touchdown drives starting in Norland territory.
The Vikings, meanwhile, presented had two real scoring threats, which bookended the second half.
The first was on their opening drive of the third quarter when they marched inside the American Heritage 25-yard line before missing the 42-yard field goal. American Heritage responded with Bueno’s touchdown to go up 20-2. On the second, the Vikings got inside the Patriots’ red zone before turning the ball over on downs. A third-down sack from Jaiden Sheard and Rubin Ceaser near the end of the drive set up fourth and long, and the Vikings’ final pass attempt into the end zone fell incomplete with a little more than two minutes left to play.
And with the win, American Heritage should maintain its spot near the top of Class 4A as the playoffs loom in a few weeks.
The Patriots entered the week as the No. 2 overall seed in Class 4A behind only Lake City Columbia, which was idle this week.
(Norland, for what it’s worth, was the No. 10 team in Class 4A and the No. 2 team in Region 4 behind American Heritage).
American Heritage is chasing its third consecutive state championship and eighth overall in school history.
.JPG)
Miami Herald
Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.