SOUTHWEST RANCHES — Converted sophomore defensive back T.J. Mullen carried 22 times for 145 yards and the winning touchdown with 5:57 remaining to carry defending state champion American Heritage to a come-from-behind 4A regional final victory over Archbishop McCarthy on Friday night.
Mullen, who entered the game with just 17 carries for 99 yards and a score, had to spell starting running back Jonathan Bueno, who left the game for good with an injury after a 10-yard run with 13.1 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Bueno had six carries for 38 yards and caught two passes for 23 yards.
“It’s next man up,” said a beaming Mullen, who hadn’t played running back all season until the fourth quarter of a 19-12 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas in October. “I did what I had to do. We had to fight adversity because we were down. In practice, coach Mike (Smith) has been getting me reps, so I was ready.”
After scoring the TD, the Patriots got the ball back on an interception by senior Terrance Johnson and handed the ball to Mullen to run nearly the final four minutes off the clock.
Archbishop McCarthy (10-3) got the ball back on their own 1-yard line with 21.9 seconds remaining after a 35-yard punt by Justin Cassini.
The Mavericks converted one fourth-down play, but on the final play of the game from their own 12, senior quarterback Robert Kerns completed a pass to Ja’Kobi Williams, who lateraled the ball to Malik Denson, who tried to find a teammate, but the ball was recovered by American Heritage, and it touched off a wild celebration.
It was the fourth turnover of the night for Archbishop McCarthy, who saw their five-game win streak snapped. The Mavericks reached the regional finals for the first time since 2010.
“Next man up” is nothing new to the Patriots (7-5), who have dealt with a plethora of injuries this season, including losing five-star Texas recruit Dia Bell after the third game of the season. In addition to Bueno, American Heritage saw starting defensive tackle, and Western Kentucky commit Isaac Tanis leave in the first half after making a tackle.
“Overcoming adversity has been all year with us,” said Smith, whose team lost to the Mavericks 13-10 on the same field for the district championship last month. “(The injuries) gave a lot of guys the ability to get some real good snaps and it showed up tonight. TJ Mullen did an unbelievable job replacing Bueno at the end, but you get put in adverse situations and players have to grow up and now this is where it pays off.”
“We have literally had to figure it out all year,” Smith added. “Guys step up and that is a summary of our whole season right there…I thought last year had a lot of adversity, but we seem to top ourselves every year. The standard doesn’t change, you gotta win.”
Kerns threw three first-half touchdowns to stake the host Mavericks to a 20-16 halftime lead as he had scoring tosses of 55, 48 and 21 yards. Williams had two of the TD throws.
American Heritage held Kerns in check the second half as he completed 4 of 13 passes for 32 yards and two interceptions. Kerns finished 11 for 25 for 222 yards and three picks, including two by Johnson.
“After we lost to them before, we went out to practice and it was nothing but effort and overcoming adversity,” said Johnson, who has a county-leading 10 interceptions. “This feels really good. We just have to keep the faith and do what we have to do.”
Archbishop McCarthy took the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards in seven plays, capped by a 55-yard scoring play. Ja’Kobi Williams hauled in a pass from Kerns that had been deflected by the Patriots’ Terrance Johnson, going for the touchdown with 9:35 remaining in the first quarter.
A wild sequence then got American Heritage on the board after Bueno fumbled inside the 5, recovered by the Mavericks’ Samuel Boatwright.
One play later, Damien Grant was tackled in his own end zone for a safety to trim the lead to 7-2.
The Patriots then pushed the lead to 9-7 on the ensuing series on a 13-yard scoring toss from Leon Strawder to Jeffar Jean-Noel with 9:23 to go in the first half.
The Mavericks wasted little time in coming back as Kerns found Kendall Brown for a 48-yard touchdown and 13-9 lead.
After the teams traded interceptions, the Patriots went 33 yards in 7 plays and made it 16-13 on a 2-yard run by Strawder.
Archbishop McCarthy took a 20-16 lead into the locker room on Kerns’ third TD toss of the first half when he hit Williams on a 21-yard score with 27.4 seconds left.
Bueno, American Heritage’s leading rusher with 468 yards this season, was injured when he was knocked out of bounds on a 5-yard run. The Patriots’ defense took a hit with 1:01 left in the half as Isaac Tanis left with an injury following a tackle.
Kade Bailey booted a 39-yard field goal with 3:49 left in the third to cut the lead to 20-19.
Mullen scored from 6 yards out with 5:57 remaining in the game to give the Patriots a 25-20 lead. American Heritage went for the 2-point conversion, but Strawder’s pass intended for Brandon Bennett in the back of the end zone was batted down by Joseph Shapiro. The score capped a seven-play 46-yard drive following an interception by Aldarius Johnson
On the next series, Kerns was intercepted by Terrance Johnson with a little over four minutes remaining, and the Patriots and Mullen effectively ran out the clock. It was the Patriots’ sixth victory in the last eight games, and their third win in a row.
“I didn’t think we played well in all three phases,” said Mavericks coach Jake Pew. “Defensively, we couldn’t get a stop when we needed one, turned the ball over (four times), which obviously doesn’t help. “They did what we prepared for. It was partly execution, partly missed assignments. I don’t think we played our best football tonight.”
