South Plantation coach Jack Chapman, a longtime veteran on the sidelines in Broward County, broke into an unexpected smile Friday night.

His Paladins just fell 20-10 to host North Miami Beach at North Miami Stadium in the Region 3-6A championship.

Certainly, a smile is not expected.

But it surfaced when Chapman was asked if his team exceeded his expectations.

"Oh my gosh, yes," Chapman said. "I don't know what you guys picked us. I think it was last in our district. For us to have a season like we did, I'm very proud of the kids. The effort, everything was just there. It's great. I'd love to coach a team like that every year."

South Plantation (9-3) saw its season slip away on the first play of the fourth quarter. Trailing 14-10, tailback Derek Washington ripped off a gain of 6 yards to the Chargers' 12.

But, as he was coming down, Washington was stripped by a North Miami Beach player. The Chargers recovered.

Twelve plays and 88 yards later, North Miami Beach scored on an 18-yard pass from Doug Wiggins to Deandre Thomas to take a 10-point lead with 6:10 remaining.

"That was a huge turning point in the game," Jeff Bertani said. "We weren't moving the ball. Then we picked up four or five big first downs. We had [Kenneth Kinchen] take a little toss and make a big play [on a gain of 33]."

The Paladins failed to convert a fourth-and-11 with less than three minutes remaining, and North Miami Beach ran out the clock.

"Mistakes," Chapman said. "It's a game of mistakes. We didn't capitalize on their mistakes, and we made enough ourselves."

North Miami Beach took an 8-0 first-quarter lead on an 18-yard pass from Doug Wiggins to Jacob Jean-Charles to cap a nine-play, 76-yard drive.

The Chargers converted a pair of third downs on the drive, including a 25-yard pass from Wiggins to Kenneth Kinchen on a third-and-5.

The Paladins answered quickly after Ohara Fluellen returned the ensuing kickoff 52 yards to the Chargers' 30. Four plays later, Cory Clare found Peter Cacciatore for a 4-yard score.

South Plantation pooched the kickoff, and Carnel McIver recovered the loose ball after two Chargers collided. But the Paladins failed to capitalize when Richard Skoien was wide left on a 27-yard field goal.

In the second quarter, Wiggins converted a fourth-and-12 with a 21-yard run after he opted not to punt with South Plantation's pressure coming up the middle.

"It was just instinct," Wiggins said. "I seen two players coming at me. I seen the right was clear, so I just took off and ran. I made a big play for my team."

Wiggins later his Deandre Thomas with a 17-yard pass to the 1 and scored on a sneak on the next play for a 14-7 lead.

"He's special," Bertani said of Wiggins, who passed for 118 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 65 yards and another score. "He's probably the greatest player that's ever played here.

"His talent would do it alone, but the fact he's won us two district championships and now he's taken us to the final four, his play speaks for itself."

South Plantation cut the deficit to 14-10 on a 37-yard field goal by Richard Skoien after the Chargers lost their third fumble of the contest in the third quarter.

The Paladins fumbled on their next possession.

"The effort's been there all year," Chapman said. "I think you can see that. Down 20-10, the kids were still playing hard, trying to come away with a win. We've been down before and we came back. [Friday night], we didn't have enough."