Saturday was a big deal for youth football. Five Plant City-area teams made it to the Tri-County Youth Football and Cheerleading Conference’s annual championship tournament, the Superbowl, Nov. 22.
VARSITY: IT TAKES 12
Anyone who caught the Superbowl action can say that the best was saved for last. The Turkey Creek Trojans Varsity team, just 12 players strong, pulled out a win at the very last second.
The Brandon Lions got on the scoreboard less than a minute after the game began, but couldn’t make that 7-0 lead any larger until the third quarter. During a closely-matched second half against the Trojans, they found themselves in a stalemate after Trojans running back Ledarin Ragins scored at the three-minute mark.
With eight-and-one-half minutes left in the game, a fight broke out on the grounds and delayed the game for several minutes. Once order was restored, Brandon ate up the clock and pulled ahead, 13-7, on an 18-yard rushing touchdown with just over three minutes to play.
Turkey Creek, aided by a 15-yard facemask penalty, found itself in the red zone with 1:24 to go. They fumbled — and recovered — and ran twice for a total of one yard. Then, on fourth and goal, quarterback D’Edrick Green ran up the middle, nearly untouched, for the touchdown. A successful two-point conversion led to one more defensive stop, and the “Trojan 12” got the goods they came for.
JUNIOR VARSITY: THE REAL DEAL
The Plant City Dolphins JV squad didn’t lose a game this season, and Saturday’s outing proved that these kids still know how to win the big one.
Their 20-6 win over the Brandon Lions was the only game of the day that wasn’t close — at least, not on the scoreboard.
Plant City struck first, thanks to a 45-yard touchdown pass caught by De’quwan Myers, but the Lions were able to block the PAT to make it a 6-0 game. After letting the Dolphins move the ball freely in the beginning, the Brandon defense tightened up and made Plant City earn every yard. The home team was also able to keep the Dolphins out of the end zone until the very end of the first half, when running back Michael Turner capped off a nice drive with a five-yard rushing touchdown.
Brandon’s offense got going to begin the second half, scoring on a long passing play of their own to make it a 12-6 game. That one got into the minds of the Plant City defenders, who then shifted gears and kept Brandon on its toes.
The Dolphins pulled ahead for good in the fourth quarter, when Chris Wilson dove into the end zone from three yards out and iced the cake with a field goal at the 3:58 mark.
MIDGETS: ONE MEASLY POINT
All that came between the Plant City Dolphins Midgets team and a Superbowl championship was one point.
The boys played their hearts out in a 13-12 loss to the East Bay Buccaneers, who looked to be in control for the majority of the game.
Even when the Dolphins were able to keep the Bucs from scoring, the eventual champs didn’t take long to figure out how to move the ball effectively. East Bay ran screen plays like Andy Reid’s old Philadelphia Eagles teams used to do, and ran them effectively nearly every time.
No one scored until the second quarter, though, when the Bucs punched in a rushing touchdown from the goal line to take a 7-0 lead. Later, at the 5:20 mark, East Bay capitalized on a 40-yard gain from a screen with a quarterback option. This extra point attempt was no good, setting the score at 13-0.
Plant City found its way before the end of the half, putting a touchdown on the board but missing the PAT. The Dolphins scored again in the fourth quarter, with a Brent Coton floater that landed in Ethan Pues’s hands and went 30 yards for a score. With 1:01 on the clock, Plant City needed a successful PAT to tie; The wind had other ideas, however, and stopped the ball just short of the crossbar. East Bay kneeled on the next drive to ice the clock and the game with it.
PEE-WEES: ALMOST THERE
The first Plant City-East Bay matchup of the day was all about the ground game, but the Bucs took the upper hand in a 12-6 win over the Dolphins.
In the first quarter, Plant City struck gold at the 5:02 mark to go up, 6-0. The extra point attempt was no good, and both teams turned up the defensive effort from there.
East Bay got their first touchdown with 52 seconds left in the first half, driving all the way to the goal line and scoring on a one-yard run. Their extra point attempt also failed, and both teams left the field with a halftime draw.
A scoreless third quarter led to an East Bay touchdown on the first play of the fourth, a 38-yard sweep run, but another extra point attempt was no good. Plant City kept things interesting, driving the ball to the best of the players’ ability, but couldn’t make anything else happen before time ran out.
MIGHTY MITES: GOOD OLD-FASHIONED SHOOTOUT
The most action-packed game of the day was the opener, when the Brandon Cowboys got the better of Plant City in a 25-19 slobber-knocker.
Both teams were evenly matched through two quarters, going into halftime with the score tied at 13. After a scoreless third quarter, the Cowboys recovered a Dolphins fumble with 3:23 to go and took it to the house, 60 yards downfield, for a touchdown. The extra point attempt was no good, putting the score at 19-13.
Plant City answered right back, driving all the way to the end zone and capping it off with a D.J. Howard rushing touchdown at the 43-second mark. The extra point attempt was unsuccessful, however, and Plant City’s defense made sure that the game went to overtime.
Three plays into the overtime period, Brandon found itself in the end zone again. Another failed extra point attempt set the lead at 25-19, and Plant City did everything it could to get to the goal line. On fourth down, just inches from the plane, and the defense managed to stop Howard.