It was the battle of Plant City for the last regular season game of the year on Thursday as the 7-2 Plant City Raiders went to Strawberry Crest to go against the 6-3 Chargers. The Raiders were on a 4 game-winning streak, averaging 47.5 points per game during that span. The Chargers got back in the win column in their last game, ending a 3 game-losing streak.
The Chargers won the coin toss and elected to receive. They started their first offensive possession at the 14-yard line. Running back Zion Weems had the first two carries of the game for small gains. An incomplete pass from Sevin Bagnato forced a 3 and out.
The Raiders started their first drive inside the Chargers 50-yard line. Raiders running back Tony Marshall had a short run, followed by an incomplete pass by Chris Denson, who had to throw it out of bounds due to a Chargers defender closing in. After another short run by Marshall, the Raiders lined up to go for it. They went for it and Denson threw a beautiful pass to wide receiver Josh Tyson for the first touchdown of the game. After the extra point, the score was 7-0 with 8:23 left in the first.
Calvin Harris had a solid return and the Chargers started their second possession at the 29-yard line. The drive started similar to the first with back-to-back runs for a minimal gain. An incomplete pass from Sevin Bagnato and two offsetting penalties made it a replay on third down. A short run by Bagnato made it 4th down and the Chargers lined up to go for it. The Chargers drew the Raiders offside and gave them an automatic first down. Brice Schmidt took a carry for the Chargers. After a short run by Weems, the Chargers were faced with a 3rd and 6 at midfield. After an incomplete pass to Jean Henry, the Chargers opted to punt for the second time in this game. The Chargers faked the punt and the attempt failed so the Raiders took over at midfield.
The Raiders started the drive with a short pass to Josh Tyson, followed by two runs which brought up 4th and 1. The Raiders went for it and converted on a quarterback draw play by Denson. The Raiders went for an end zone shot but Hunter Hall broke it up for the Chargers. Denson had another solid run which brought up a 3rd and 6. The Raiders attempted another end zone throw and this time, defensive back Cameron Crowe broke it up for the Chargers. On 4th down, the Raiders went for it and Denson found Tyson again in the middle of the field for a first down to end the quarter.
Marshall had a nice run to start the second quarter and was tackled at the 1-yard line. The Raiders gave it back to him and he scored the second time, extending the Raiders lead to 14-0 with 11:37 left in the first half.
The Chargers started their first drive of the second quarter at the 25-yard line. The Chargers attempted a deep pass but it was incomplete. After a short run by Weems, the Chargers called a timeout with 10:07 left in the half. The Raiders sent the blitz after the timeout and Bagnato was forced to throw it away. The Chargers punted it on another 3 and out for the team.
A great punt by the Chargers had the Raiders start at their 25-yard line. The drive started with a bang as Marshall ran it all the way to the Chargers 38-yard line. The Raiders lost yards on a run and then an incomplete pass to make it third and long. After a short run to Marshall, the Raiders went for it and Denson found wide receiver Haven Pierce for a catch, but it wasn’t enough for the first and the Chargers took over at the 24-yard line with 7:55 left in the half. The drive started with an end around play by wide receiver Timmy Woods for a 9-yard gain. A bad snap by the Chargers backed them up to their own 20-yard line and made it 3rd and 20. Defensive end for the Raiders, Oscar Valdez, sacked the Chargers QB and forced another 3 and out.
The Raiders started the following drive at the 42 with 5:18 left in the half. Denson had a nice carry for 8 yards to start the drive. Another short run made it 3rd and 1 for the Raiders. The run by Marshall got the Raiders the first down and put them at midfield. They fed Marshall again and he picked up another first down. The Raiders fumbled but recovered it, which brought up a third and 5. Denson tried to rush for the first and was instantly met by Chargers defenders. The Raiders attempted a 36-yard field goal but it went right and was no good. The Chargers took over at the 21-yard line with 48 seconds left in the first half. The Chargers had a short run by Weems and that sent the game to halftime with the Raiders up 14-0.
The Raiders got the ball to start the third. The first play of the second half was an incomplete pass. The Raiders picked up the first down after a nice run by Marshall. Denson then kept it for a solid run, getting tackled at the 26. Then Denson kept it again for a big gain, getting tackled at the 1-yard line. They capped off an efficient drive as Marshall ran it in for another touchdown. After the extra point, the score was 21-0 with 9:50 left in the third.
The Chargers fumbled the kick return and the Raiders took back over in Chargers territory at the 35-yard line. The drive started with an incomplete pass. A run by Marshall for 2 yards made it 3rd and 8. The third-down pass was incomplete and the Raiders lined up to go for it. A 5-yard penalty on the Chargers made it 4th and 3 for the Raiders. The Raiders fumbled on 4th down and the Chargers recovered and took over at the 21-yard line. Weems had a short carry on first down. An incomplete pass made it third and long but an encroachment by the Raiders made it 3rd and 3. Weems ran back-to-back plays for a Chargers third down. After another nice run by Weems, Bagnato was forced to throw it out of bounds due to pressure by the Raiders. The following play was incomplete which made it 3rd and 10. The Chargers had to punt after another incomplete and the Raiders took over at their own 20-yard line with 4:55 left in the third.
After a short run by Marshall, Denson found Treon Williams deep for a 75-yard Raiders touchdown. The score was now 28-0 with 4:15 left in the third.
Bagnato found wide receiver Woods for a big gain, which took them to midfield. The following play was an incomplete pass deep. Defensive lineman Valdez deflected Bagnato’s pass on the following play for an incompletion. A timeout was called with 2 minutes remaining in the third quarter. The play after the timeout was an incomplete pass and the Chargers were forced to punt it. The Raiders took over at their own 25-yard line with 1:39 left in the third.
The Raiders began this drive by killing the clock with 3 straight runs. The third quarter ended with them up 28-0.
The fourth quarter started with the Raiders having the ball. They went for it on 4th and short and failed to convert so the Chargers took over at the Raiders 34-yard line.
After a short run by Weems, a facemask penalty on the Raiders moved the Chargers up to the 22-yard line. Running back Zayveon Springfield had a nice run and made it first and goal at the 10 for the Chargers. A Raiders penalty moved Crest to the 5-yard line. A timeout was called with 7:51 left in the game. Springfield ran it in for the Chargers touchdown. They attempted a fake kick and failed so the score was 28-6 with 7:39 left in the game.
The kickoff went out of bounds and after the penalty, the Raiders started the drive at the 35-yard line. The Raiders wasted no time as Marshall took the opening play of the drive to the house for a big Raiders touchdown. They were up 35-6 with 6:52 left in the game.
The Chargers had a great return and started the drive at the 40-yard line. Bagnato was forced to throw it out of bounds as no one was open. Seth Hogan got a pick 6 for the Raiders and extended their lead to 41-6 after a missed 2-point conversion and that brought about the running clock.
The Chargers fumbled on the following drive but recovered it bringing up a 3rd and 5. The Chargers called a timeout with 2:12 left to try and dial up a play for a first down. They had the yardage but with a running clock, they didn’t have enough time to make anything on the drive. The final score was 41-6 with the Plant City Raiders getting the win.