SOCCER + Lady Raiders win district crown As many expected, Plant City High School just completed its first-ever district three-peat. The first two rounds of the tournament were a breeze for the Lady Raiders, who outscored both opponents 12-0. Ericka Lott registered a hat trick in the first round against Blake High School, and five of […]
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Sawyer Dawson, Austin Carswell scout players at Under Armour Combine
Plant City having a presence at the annual Under Armour Combine is nothing new. But this year, two of the area’s best juniors got to experience it from a new perspective. Plant City’s Sawyer Dawson and Strawberry Crest’s Austin Carswell made the trek Jan. 2, to Tropicana Field — with sideline passes, granting them the […]
Continue ReadingBaker, Dawson try out for USA Women’s Baseball
Although Plant City was represented by two ballplayers in last week’s USA Baseball Women’s tryouts, only Chelsea Baker had played baseball before. The Durant High School junior, along with Plant City High School grad Kendall Dawson, traveled last week to Florida Atlantic University, in Boca Raton, with hopes of making the national team in August. […]
Continue ReadingWHAT’S ON KLINE’S MIND? Pro athletes are human, too
Because most of us watched Sunday’s NFC and AFC championship games, we got to witness what automatically became an all-time classic of a post-game interview. For those of you who didn’t catch the 49ers-Seahawks evening tilt — which was great, by the way — things got a little heated at the end, when Seattle’s Richard […]
Continue ReadingATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Malik Channer
The Strawberry Crest boys basketball team wrapped up district play Jan. 17, with a 60-43 win over Brandon, led by senior guard Malik Channer and his 26 points. The next day, Channer dropped 20 points on Lakeland in a 56-52 loss at the Polk State College MLK Holiday Shootout. Channer, the team’s leading scorer at […]
Continue ReadingPHOTO GALLERY: Girls Basketball – Durant at Plant City
After staving off a few Durant rallies, the Plant City Lady Raiders improved to 5-5 in the district with a 50-38 win. Shayna Lawrence and the Lady Raiders (10-10) jumped out to a 13-4 lead right out of the gate, but the Lady Cougars (1-15) made it a 15-13 game early in the second quarter. […]
Continue ReadingPCHS baseball refreshed, renewed
Save for a few rough patches of grass near the bullpen, Plant City High School’s baseball field looks immaculate. The ryegrass is fresh, the clay is bright, and everything else looks more like a high school field than the makeshift diamond of “The Sandlot.” It’s second-year coach Mike Fryrear’s labor of love and, for now, […]
Continue ReadingATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Pedro Mendoza
As a captain, Plant City High School’s sweeper was there for all of the highs and lows of the 2013-14 season. The junior defender played through injury when he had to, and helped guide the Raiders to a 4-1-2 district record — good for second place. For his hard work in this past week’s King […]
Continue ReadingWHAT’S ON KLINE’S MIND: Baseball Hall of Fame voting raises questions
If you tuned in to any sports network this week, you’ve probably heard something about the Baseball Hall of Fame’s voting process. If you tuned in to ESPN, then you probably witnessed a lot of hand-wringing. Dan Le Batard’s decision to turn his ballot over to readers of Deadspin.com created a huge controversy in the […]
Continue ReadingSidelines 01.16.14
FOOTBALL + East falls short in All-American Bowl Although Montel McBride and his Semper Fi East teammates didn’t leave California with a win, they were happy to get some national exposure. Fox Sports 1 broadcast the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl on Jan. 5, and the West team won, 31-24. Speaking of McBride, national recruiting website Rivals.com […]
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