The Raiders haven’t forgotten about their 2012 season opener.
Just one year removed from putting on an offensive clinic for Strawberry Crest, scoring 69 points in a big win, Plant City found itself in a 21-7 hole against a similar Chargers squad. Other than one touchdown, they simply couldn’t find any answers to Crest’s output.
As with any properly-coached football team, the Raiders have moved on. Ask them about last year’s game, and you’ll get the same answer from running back Hassan Bailey all the way up to head coach Wayne Ward.
“I’m just focused on the here-and-now,” Bailey says. “Like my coach says: The next play is always the most important play.”
But, it’s still obvious that they’ve got the memories of that game stored somewhere in their brains, even if they’re tucked away in a little compartment as far from the forefront as possible.
The energy coming from their practice field was a little infectious. Players seemed to arrive with more pep in their step. Coaches were feeling good, even to the point where Ward himself couldn’t hide the big smile on his face.
“They’re a really good football team,” Ward says. “By all means, we’re not looking over them.”
As for the Chargers, don’t think for one second that they’re any less stoked for Friday night.
It’s always nice to be able to control your own destiny, and that’s exactly Crest’s position with a 3-0 district record. A win at Plant City on Friday would give the Chargers the district championship outright — and the first of the school’s short history.
FAMILIAR FOES
Plant City only has a few years of film on Strawberry Crest, as the school has only been around since 2009. Watching the film helps the Raiders pick up on the play-calling and the coaching tendencies. But their familiarity with the players goes back much further.
“We’ve been playing with these kids for, I mean, ever since Little League,” Bailey says.
Many of these players would have played together with the Plant City Dolphins or the Turkey Creek Trojans — long before Strawberry Crest High School was conceived. They likely were even classmates up until high school, when the new school popped up in Dover and the zoning changed.
The friends-versus-friends scenario that this matchup creates gives players such as Bailey an extra reason to go out there and do work: Who doesn’t want the bragging rights that come from beating friends in a competition?
DON’T CALL IT A TUNE-UP
After two consecutive weeks of heartbreak, things finally turned up for the Raiders in a tilt with the Spoto Spartans.
With the 33-14 win, Plant City’s offense ended one point shy of matching its total output in the East Bay and Tampa Bay Tech games. And the team did most of its work in the second half, scoring 26 points to Spoto’s seven and looking completely dominant.
“We came out a little bit slow in the beginning and made some adjustments at halftime,” Ward says. “We came out in the second half and played our style of football, so it was refreshing to come out with a victory.”
Call it whatever you want, as long as those words are not “tune-up.”
“No, it’s not necessarily a confidence-booster,” Ward says. “But, just getting back to the basics and doing what we do well. Tampa Bay Tech and East Bay were tough losses, both of them. But, we can’t live on the past, and we’ve got to look forward to this as well.”
Ward cites ball security and sticking to fundamentals as the reasons for winning and again as the keys to Friday’s game. He’s doing just what his players say that he does: always looking to the next play.
Coach John Kelly and the Chargers also picked up a big win on Friday, dominating East Bay with a 35-14 district win, but they have the same mentality going into this week’s matchup.
“Each game is different, so you can’t always go by the margin of victory or defeat in how you evaluate how two teams are going to perform against each other,” Kelly says.
Kelly is referring to the Raiders’ 19-13 overtime loss at East Bay two weeks ago, which helped move the Indians into a tie with Plant City in the district standings.
“We’re going to have to play great to go up against a team with as many skill players as Plant City has,” he says.
THE BIG PICTURE
A win Friday, along with a Durant victory over East Bay, would put Plant City in the best situation for which it could hope. That would move them into second place in the district and, with a match at Brandon next week, all but guarantee them a second-place finish and a postseason opportunity.
The following week, they will close the season at home against Gaither.
On the other hand, those in charge of scheduling haven’t been as kind to the Chargers. They’ll get their bye week following Friday’s game but will return to action on Nov. 8 to take on superpower Armwood. A win Friday would be great for Crest going into their bye, because the Chargers will need every bit of momentum they can get before walking into the lion’s den.
But the coaches — and the players — aren’t trying to talk about crossing those bridges until they get there.
“The here-and-now is here,” Ward says.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
OTHER AREA ACTION
Durant at Hillsborough
Last Week: Durant rallied late to beat Brandon, 12-10, while Hillsborough trampled Blake, 52-21.
Notes: Things weren’t looking so hot for Durant until the fourth quarter, when they rattled off 12 unanswered points and held the Eagles at bay just long enough to secure the win at home. They got the district win they desperately needed to stay alive, and Crest helped out with a win as well. At Blake High School, the Hillsborough Terriers rebounded from a surprisingly sloppy win over Chamberlain with a 52-21 beatdown on the road. They are currently two games behind the mighty Armwood and one behind Jefferson, in their district.