Sometimes, the way to beat a playoff team is to punch it in the mouth early.
That’s what the Plant City Raiders did to Jefferson High School in Friday night’s 14-12 win, and the Dragons were furious.
Plant City set the tone on the first play of the game, when Tommy Bennett plowed through the offensive line to record a sack. Whatever the Raiders were doing out there seemed to frustrate the Jefferson players, who drew four early penalties and turned the ball over.
Sophomore quarterback Corey King started the game for Plant City, but got off to a shaky start. The Dragons got on the board early in the second quarter when King threw a pick six, but couldn’t get the two-point conversion.
A 65-yard rush by running back Markese Hargrove set King up for an easy QB sneak, which put the Raiders ahead, 7-6. The Dragons answered with a long drive and a short touchdown pass, striking with nine seconds to go in the half, but again missed the two-point conversion.
Austin Carswell replaced King midway through the third quarter, and Sterling Day put the Raiders ahead for good after a penalty-aided drive.
The Dragons managed to avoid enough penalties to sustain a long fourth-quarter drive, and got within easy field goal range with 1:46 to play. Senior linebacker Sawyer Dawson timed the snap perfectly and blocked the kick, saving the day for Plant City.
In other area action, Durant topped Orlando-Oak Ridge in a 28-24 thriller, and Strawberry Crest manhandled Middleton, 27-2.