If you’ve never seen the movie “The Karate Kid,” you can experience it in real life at Chris Welbon Karate Clubs, located at 204 N Mobley Street in Plant City. Here, you will find people training for martial arts through Kumite fighting, weapons Kata, bo staff, nun chucks, and more. Chris Welbon is the owner […]
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Athlete of the Week 08.29.24
Emma Jones Emma is a senior at Plant City High School where she is on the Varsity Cheer Team. How long have you been cheerleading? I’ve been cheerleading for 10 years. What’s your favorite thing about Cheerleading on game days for football? My favorite thing is dancing with the band or doing ‘hey burrito’ with […]
Continue ReadingFormer Local Athlete Makes NFL Debut
Millions of American youngsters strap on shoulder pads and other protective gear to play America’s favorite sport: football. Of those, a little more than a million play high school ball. That figure whittles down to approximately 77,000 college football players at NCAA-member schools. When talking about the number of active players in the National Football […]
Continue ReadingDurant Rolls Over East Bay
Friday night lights are back! August 16 was the first of many high school football games set to be featured for the next few months, so stay tuned to the Plant City Observer. It started with a preseason game, the Kickoff Classic, where the Durant Cougars hosted the East Bay Indians. The preseason allows both […]
Continue ReadingAthlete of the Week 08.22.24
Kristien Cook Kristien is a senior at Durant High School where he plays running back for the Cougars Varsity football team. How long have you been playing football? This will be my fifth season playing football, four years in high school and one year in Little League. Have you always played running back or have […]
Continue ReadingDurant Cougars 2024 Football
Following success in a historic postseason run last year, the Durant Cougars, under the leadership of head coach Claybo Varnum, will begin their season ranked No. 15 in division 6A. Varnum, a Durant football alum, has been at the helm of the program since the 2021 season. Before that, he was an assistant coach for […]
Continue ReadingMajor Matchups 2024
Preseason August 16: Durant vs. East Bay The Cougars will meet their former head coach Mike Gottman and his team, who finished their season last year undefeated in district play and 8-3 overall, including making it to the district playoffs. A win for the Cougars in this non-district matchup won’t help their district playoff rankings, […]
Continue ReadingPlant City Raiders 2024 Football
2023 marked a new beginning for Plant City’s football program as Terrence Hicks, a former Wharton High School defensive back and Southeastern University football alum, took charge of the Raiders’ coaching staff. After what Hicks viewed as a successful season last year, the Raiders are ready to show every opponent what they are made of […]
Continue ReadingStrawberry Crest High School Chargers 2024 Football
After ending last season 4-6, Strawberry Crest’s head coach Phillip Prior is proud of how far he’s seen the team come since being hired in 2019. Prior was hired by the Chargers following former head coach Ron Hawn’s retirement that summer, and he already had experience rebuilding programs. Having coached at Poinciana and seeing what […]
Continue ReadingHistoric Football Photos
Courtesy of the Plant City Photo Archives
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