Although there’s still some football left to be played in the Plant City area, Friday night lights will no longer illuminate the high school game.
Durant and Plant City gave their best efforts in last Friday night’s playoff games, but it wasn’t enough to keep up the momentum to the 2014 district picture. Disappointment ran wild, but there was a sense of accomplishment among the players and coaches.
DURANT
Everyone enjoys a good “worst-to-first” story, which is why the Durant Cougars are probably more upbeat than anyone right now.
Following a dismal 2013 season, the Cougars needed to get some fixes on both sides of the ball if they wanted to turn things around.
It didn’t take long for starting quarterback Erick Davis to succeed in head coach Mike Gottman’s offense. Relying heavily on the read option, most often with Crispian Atkins at running back, Davis accounted for seven touchdowns in his first two games and led the team to a 3-1 start out of the gate. After sitting out the Gaither game to nurse an injured ankle, Davis excelled under center and helped get the Cougars back into the playoffs.
The defense also stepped up, despite losing several key seniors from the 2013 team. The 20 points it allowed in each of Durant’s first two games don’t reflect how dominant the unit looked early on, and although the unit did slip a bit in the middle of the season, it dominated the East Bay Indians in Oct. 31’s district-clinching win.
PLANT CITY
At first glance, it looks like this Raider football season paled in comparison to the previous one. After all, this year’s team finished at 4-6-1, and many of those six losses were close enough to frustrate the players.
However, this team did manage to accomplish exactly what the 2013 squad did: Snag the second spot in the playoffs. Strong efforts by the defense — particularly Patrick Colleran, Sawyer Dawson and the linebacker corps — helped will this team back into the postseason.
While Colleran’s total of 134 tackles was probably the biggest individual stat of the defense, sophomores Steven Ogletree and Nathan Hamilton made some noise with 118 tackles and six sacks, respectively.
But the biggest catalyst may have been the emergence of Markese Hargrove. Head coach Wayne Ward spent the offseason telling anyone who would listen that Hargrove was going to make some noise, and that certainly happened. What the junior running back lacked in size, he more than made up for with his big-play ability. After gaining 180 yards in the first three games, Hargrove went for 1,066 yards and six scores to close out the season — an average of about 178 yards per game.
STRAWBERRY CREST
No team in the area was hit harder by graduation than the Strawberry Crest Chargers, who lost almost all of their 2013 impact players to old age.
Although big names Tristan Hyde, Josh Engram and Cody McDaniel returned, most of the team had little varsity experience. It was clear from the start that this was going to be a project, and head coach John Kelly brought in a new offensive and defensive coordinator to get that ball rolling.
The Chargers finished with a 1-9 record, but did upset Brandon, 9-6, and singlehandedly altered the district results.
The new multiple offense put a bigger emphasis on the passing game than before, and senior wideout Clay Cullins made things easier for Hyde. Cullins was the team’s leading receiver in his first year as the No. 1 wideout, catching a team-high 46 passes for 386 yards and three touchdowns. In the ground game, senior Arjay Smith racked up 727 yards and eight touchdowns, often providing the Chargers a relief when they needed one.
On defense, junior linebacker Jordan Zilbar had a breakout year, with 93 total tackles and four fumble recoveries to lead the unit.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.