The Redman Cup has made its way back to Plant City.
With a big fourth-quarter effort, the Raiders rallied from behind to stun Durant at home, 21-16. It was Plant City’s seventh consecutive win, and it handed the Raiders the district title.
The Cougars did strike first, settling for a field goal on the opening drive. It was the first of Peyton Ledbetter’s three makes, on three first-half attempts. Plant City answered when Corey King threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Chase, with 2:02 left in the first quarter.
Shortly after Ledbetter hit a field goal with 3:49 left in the half, Durant nearly had a punt return touchdown thanks to a great run by Jaden Garrett. But it was called back following an illegal block in the back, and the Cougars had to settle for that last field goal with two seconds left.
The halftime score of 9-7 mimicked last year’s final, but the second half of the game did not.
Tight end Steven Witchoskey put the Cougars ahead early in the second half, catching a pass from Carlton Potter in the end zone, and the Cougars were sitting pretty with a 16-7 lead. But Plant City wideout Antoine Thompson had a run play called for him which, with the help of some great blocking, worked beautifully – Thompson scored on an 80-yard run to bring the score to 16-14 Durant.
Just when things were looking iffy for the Raiders, running back Markese Hargrove got to play hero. He finished the game with 58 rushing yards, but picked up 49 of his 62 receiving yards with a catch-and-run touchdown at the 1:49 mark in the fourth. The Durant visitors’ section went into a frenzy, and even more so when the Cougars fumbled – and lost – the ensuing kickoff.
The final nail in the Cougars’ coffin came in the form of a personal foul with around 55 seconds left to play, giving the Raiders an automatic first down with enough time to kneel down and run the clock out.