Plant City blanks Crest, 35-0

Though Strawberry Crest’s defense didn’t make anything easy for Plant City, the Raiders prevailed in Dover on Friday night.

The visiting Raiders kept their winning streak alive with a 35-0 win at Crest that was more competitive than the scoreboard suggests.

Crest looked strong out of the gate, recovering a Plant City fumble within the first minute of play and driving as far as Plant City’s 35-yard line. The Chargers couldn’t finish the drive and Plant City was able to block the ensuing punt, which led to the Raiders driving from their own 48-yard line into Chargers territory. With just over four minutes left in the quarter, the Raiders nearly had the drive stall out as Braxton Plunk’s fourth-down pass attempt was caught while the receiver’s knee was on the ground but a defensive holding call against Crest was enough to move the chains. Zamir’ Knighten was able to open up the scoring a short time later by breaking off a 30-yard rushing touchdown to put the Raiders ahead, 7-0.

The Raiders forced and recovered a fumble with 35 seconds left in the first quarter, then recovered a fumble of their own for a first down at the 10:53 mark of the second quarter. Plant City drove to Crest’s 15-yard line and took several end-zone chances with Plunk’s arm and Knighten’s legs, but nothing was working out for the Raiders. Their 30-yard field goal attempt then missed.

Crest quarterback Makenzie Kennedy picked up where he left off last week, continuing to make plays with his legs, and he helped the Chargers get to Plant City’s 15-yard line with around four minutes left in the half. The Raiders defense forced Crest to fourth down, however, and Kennedy had to dive onto a low snap to prevent a PCHS scoop and score on the fourth-down play.

Cody Newman got Crest the ball back with just under three minutes left in the half thanks to a well-played interception, but the Chargers were forced to punt with 2:11 left. Plant City’s next drive moved quickly with a big completion and a personal foul on Crest’s Dalton Hunt after the receiver was brought down with a wrestling throw. Plant City took over at Crest’s 13-yard line with a fresh set of downs and Knighten punched in a five-yard touchdown a few plays later.

To make matters worse for the Chargers, they fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Plant City recovered with 15 yards to score. The Raiders did just that one play later when Plunk perfectly placed a pass to De’Qwan Myers in the right corner of the end zone with 29 seconds left.

Crest fumbled and recovered the opening kickoff of the second half and fumbled and recovered twice on their first drive of the third quarter. The second fumble was notable for Kennedy turning nothing into something, scooping up the loose ball and rifling a pass to Jadyn Girard for a big gain up the right side aided by a roughing the passer penalty. But Crest’s drive eventually stalled out and, on fourth and 12, Kobe Panier picked Kennedy off and took it to the house for six more points. The Raiders forced and recovered a fumble on the kickoff, quickly moved inside Crest’s 10-yard line and Plunk found Myers on a slant route for his second receiving score of the night with 6:46 left in the quarter. The 35-0 score set up a running clock for the rest of the game.

Plant City nearly scored again after Crest’s ensuing drive ended in a punt, which speedster Mario Williams was able to take to the end zone, but a blind side block was called on the Raiders during the return and the touchdown was wiped out as time expired in the third quarter.

Crest’s defense kept Plant City scoreless in the fourth quarter but, with the clock running, the Raiders were able to control the time of possession and limit the Chargers to just five plays before the game ended.