FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. \u2014 There was plenty at stake in this early-season matchup between two defending state champions.<\/p>\n
No. 7 West Boca Raton made the trip south to Bill Laurie Stadium to take on No. 4 American Heritage, with both teams ranked among the top 40 nationally.<\/p>\n
The game was physical from the start, with American Heritage giving West Boca little room to work.<\/p>\n
But midway through the first quarter, the Bulls found their rhythm.<\/p>\n
Trey Moran aired it out 40 yards to Laonte Davis for a touchdown, putting West Boca up 7-0.<\/p>\n
The Moran-to-Davis connection kept working all night. The Bulls took a 14-0 lead into halftime and stayed in control from there.<\/p>\n
American Heritage finally picked up its first first down of the game in the third quarter and eventually found the end zone to cut into the deficit.<\/p>\n
But the Bulls were too much for a short-handed Patriots team, pulling away for a 24-7 win.<\/p>\n
American Heritage coach Mike Smith said the message to his team after the loss was simple.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s go back to work,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s always been the message,\u201d he said. \u201cEven last year when we struggled, and the year before that, you just go back to work. That\u2019s all you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith gave West Boca Raton credit while pointing to the small mistakes that hurt his team.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a good team. Gotta give them a lot of credit, but we killed ourselves with a lot of the little things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For the Patriots, it\u2019s back to work in Plantation.<\/p>\n
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