Friday, August 19, marks the start of the preseason.
For Plant City, school and sports are around the corner. Preseason football is set for Friday, Aug. 19, and all three Plant City-area teams will get to shake off the rust that evening.
DURANT
Durant will have the pleasure of hosting the Brandon Eagles. Last year, the Eagles posted a 9-3 record and went 4-1 in their district, losing only to Plant City and Armwood. One of the two losses to Armwood came in the district championship game.
This is also a familiar foe for Durant: the two schools competed in the same district until Brandon was moved before last season. Durant, which played well in 2015, will see what its defense can do without star defensive back Jaden Garrett, who tore his ACL and will miss his entire senior season.
Durant High School is located at 4748 Cougar Path. The game will begin at 7 p.m.
PLANT CITY
Plant City will travel to Riverview to take on the Sharks. Riverview, which posted a 3-7 record last season, has not faced a Plant City-area team since taking on Strawberry Crest in 2014 and has not faced the Raiders since 2012.
The Raiders are looking to keep the momentum going from their 2015 season, which featured an 11-game win streak.
Plant City High School will play Riverview High School at 7:30 p.m. at Riverview High School, 11311 Boyette Road, Riverview.
STRAWBERRY CREST
The Jesuit Tigers will travel to Dover to take on Strawberry Crest. Jesuit, a private school, has one of the top programs in the state. It did not lose a regular-season game in 2015 and kept its win streak alive all the way to the Class 5A Final Four, where it took a 28-14 loss to Orlando-Bishop Moore.
The Tigers will prove to be a tough test for an all-new Crest, even for a preseason outing.
Crest is located at 4691 Gallagher Rd., Dover. The game will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Note: An earlier version of this article stated that Strawberry Crest will play at Jesuit. It has been corrected.
