With the 2022 high school football season here we are previewing the Top 25 teams in our Florida Top 25 rankings that we have already debuted on Varsity Sports Network’s Florida Gridiron Report last week. Rankings for the Florida Top 25 will be updated each Wednesday night on the Florida Gridiron Report and on FloridaHSFootball.com along with all classification rankings.
NO. 13 AMERICAN HERITAGE PATRIOTS (PLANTATION)
Head Coach: Mike Smith, 1st year
Classification & District: 2M-12
2021 Record: 6-4
Key Athletes: WR Brandon Innis, Sr; RB Mark Fletcher, Sr; QB Blake Murphy, Sr; DB Damari Brown, Sr; DB Dameon Fagan, Sr; CB Shamar McNeil, Sr; OL Joey Colosi, Sr; OL Jadon Brown, Sr; S CJ Goldsby Jr, Sr; LB Jamarcus Smith, Sr; RB Reggie Foster, Sr; LS Aiden Arias, Sr; LB David Vadala, Sr
2022 Schedule
Kickoff 7:30 PM ET unless noted
* – Denotes District Game
Fri. 8/20 (Week 0) – @ Valdosta Lowndes, Ga., 8
Sat. 8/27 (Week 1) – Los Alamitos, Calif. (at St. Thomas Aquinas), 4
Fri. 9/2 (Week 2) – Lakeland Lake Gibson
Fri. 9/9 (Week 3) – Belle Glade Glades Central
Fri. 9/16 (Week 4) – @ Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna, 7
Fri. 9/23 (Week 5) – BYE WEEK
Fri. 9/30 (Week 6) – @ Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons, 7
Fri. 10/7 (Week 7) – Davie Western
Fri. 10/14 (Week 8) – @ Fort Lauderdale Stranahan (AutoNation Community Field)
Fri. 10/21 (Week 9) – @ Naples
Fri. 10/28 (Week 10) – Hallandale
Fri. 11/4 (Week 11) – BYE WEEK
Season Outlook: The Patriots enter the season with a new head coach in Mike Smith, but Smith is no stranger to the program having been a longtime assistant under the previous two head coaches in Mike Rumph and Patrick Surtain who helped the school win multiple state championships over the last decade. Overall, 14 of 22 starter return for the team with the return split evenly on both sides of the ball and that is despite graduating 17 seniors from last year regional semifinalist team. While the goal is for American Heritage to return to the state championship game, it will be rather difficult given just how challenging the district will be with defending state champion Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons in the district, but also given how tough Region 3 and Region 4 will be in Class 2M.
![Three generations of Garcia's pose for a photo from Hillsborough (Tampa) on Sunday, July 12 at the AdventHealth Training Center in Tampa, Fla. From left to right is Hillsborough Head Coach Earl Garcia Jr., Earl "EJ" Garcia IV, and Earl Garcia III. [FloridaHSFootball.com]](https://i0.wp.com/floridahsfootball.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/2026-Tampa-Bay-Buccaneers-High-School-Football-Media-Day-Day-2-Photo-Gallery.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1)
![The Durant Cougars (Plant City) hold up the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Flag during the photo session of the 2026 Tampa Bay Buccaneers High School Football Media Day on Saturday, July 11, 2026 at the AdventHealth Training Center in Tampa, Fla. [FloridaHSFootball.com]](https://i0.wp.com/floridahsfootball.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/2026-Tampa-Bay-Buccaneers-High-School-Football-Media-Day-Day-1-Photo-Gallery.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1)
