After what seemed like a million thrown penalty flags, the Bloomingdale Bulls were able to escape Plant City with a 24-20 victory.
Another rainy Friday night brought another slew of turnovers, with one early Plant City fumble in the red zone resulting in the Bulls’ first touchdown of the game. With 36 seconds to go in the first quarter, Bloomingdale hit a field goal and it looked like the game would be pretty close.
From the second quarter onward, though, things got really our of hand for the Raiders. Flag after flag was thrown for an illegal motion, or encroachment, and Plant City’s only saving grace was its pass defense. Fred McCoy scored on a 13-yard sweep with 1:33 left in the half, and Plant City went into the locker room with a 17-point deficit.
Markese Hargrove stepped up in the third quarter, kicking things off with a series of big runs and confounding the Bloomingdale front seven. But, penalties took much of this away, and Chris Wonsley put Bloomingdale ahead, 24-0, with 6:05 in the quarter. By the end, there had been 23 flags thrown.
It was a great fourth quarter for the Raiders, though, as quarterback Austin Carswell scored three touchdowns on the ground in four minutes. Plant City’s second onside kick attempt of the quarter failed, though, with 20 seconds to go, and the Bulls just killed the clock to preserve the win.
In other area action, the banged-up Durant Cougars were upset by Gaither, 23-7, and Strawberry Crest dropped a 10-7 game to Freedom.