Photos courtesy of Braden Gilley
The Plant City Raiders returned to action after what felt like forever due to the effects of Hurricane Milton, taking on the Alonso Ravens.
Alonso won the coin toss and deferred, so the Raiders got the ball first. The Raiders started at their own 20-yard line. Quarterback Chris Denson kept the ball on the run, pass, option play, and had a nice 19-yard run. After a short pass, running back Tony Marshall had a huge run, getting tackled at Alonso’s 30-yard line. Denson then kept it again for another first-down run. Marshall got the carry for another Raiders first down, their 4th in just as many plays. Denson and Marshall had two short runs, making it third and goal at the one-yard line. A play action on third and short was incomplete. The Raiders lined up to go for it and converted. Denson broke a tackle and found a wide receiver open in the back of the end zone for the score. The score was 7-0 after the extra point with 9:32 left in the first.
Alonso attempted to return the kickoff and was immediately popped by the Raiders, starting their first drive at the 15-yard line. It was a bad start for Alonso as they couldn’t even snap the first play of offense before a false start. After two short plays of gain for Alonso, the Raiders gave up 5 yards with an encroachment penalty. Alonso’s run on third down was stuffed and they went for it inside their 30-yard line on 4th down and converted with a quarterback sneak. Alonso got backed up 10 yards on the following drive due to a holding penalty. They got it back and then some as they found a wide receiver on a curl route and he turned it upfield, getting tackled at the 50-yard line. Alonso went on to throw three incompletions in a row.
A good punt put the Raiders at their 11-yard line. The Raiders started the drive with two short runs and then Denson found Josh Tyson wide open in the middle of the field, putting the Raiders at the 40-yard line. They didn’t stop there as Denson found Haven Pierce on a deep vertical route putting them inside Alonso’s 30-yard line. An Alonso encroachment put the Raiders in the red zone. A 10-yard run by the Raiders made it first and goal. The Raiders fumbled the next play on a rushing attempt but recovered it. A holding on Plant City brought them back 10 yards. After a rush pass option play, the Raiders were forced to kick the field goal and converted making the score 10-0 with 1:35 left in the first.
On the first play of Alonso’s second drive, the quarterback kept it for a run that went for 20+ yards. After that, the Raiders had a horse-collar penalty which put Alonso inside the Raider’s territory. Simeon Hogan tackled the Alonso quarterback as he tried to escape the pocket to end the first quarter.
The second quarter started with Alonso instantly picking up a first down inside the Raider’s 5-yard line. Alonso quickly cut the deficit as they scored on a play-action play. The score was 10-7 with 9:16 left in the half.
Alonso attempted an onside kick but the Raiders recovered and took over at the 46-yard line. The drive started with a boom as Tony Marshall ran over an Alonso defender. On the next play, Denson found Tyson on a short pass for a gain of 8 yards. On the next play, Denson found Tyson again, this time for a 30+ yard Raiders touchdown. The score was 17-7 with 7:28 left in the half.
An unsportsmanlike penalty on the Raiders backed them up 15 yards on the kickoff so Alonso had good field position and started the drive at midfield. Alonso threw an interception inside the Raiders red zone.
The Raiders took over deep inside their territory with 6:02 left in the half. They started the drive with a 7-yard run, followed by a 5-yard run, quickly picking up the first down. Denson escaped the pocket and ran for 13 yards which put the Raiders at midfield. Tyson had a 21-yard slant in the middle of the field and the Raiders were at the 30-yard line. After 3 short runs, the Raiders called a timeout with 2:28 left in the half. After the timeout, the Raiders had an incomplete play making it 4th down at the 26-yard line. Wide Receiver TJ Knighten got the Raiders a first down off the curl route putting them inside Alonso’s 10-yard line. Marshall then took the ball all the way to Alonso’s 1-yard line. Alonso then decided to take a timeout to make some defensive adjustments. Marshall ran it in for the Raiders’ third touchdown of the game making the score 24-7 with 1:24 remaining left in the half.
Alonso quickly scored on the following possession on an 80-yard pass play, making it 24-14 with 1:06 left in the half.
A Raiders holding penalty wiped away a huge touchdown and backed them up to the 50-yard line. Denson kept it for a Raiders first down. After a 5-yard pass to Marshall, the Raiders called a timeout. Knighten caught a short pass but bolted upfield and ran out of bounds at the 3 with 3 seconds left in the half. Alonso called a timeout to set up their goal-line defense. Quarterback Denson kept it and scored a touchdown to end the half. The score was 31-14 at the half.
Alonso got the ball to start the second half at the 15-yard line. Alonso wasted no time scoring in the second half with a touchdown from end zone to end zone. The score was 31-20 with 11:06 left in the third.
The Raiders started their first drive at their own 34-yard line. A 6-yard gain by the Raiders was negated due to a holding call. Denson had a 7-yard run but an Alonso face mask penalty tacked on 15 more. A short carry by Marshall put the Raiders to midfield. Denson could not escape the Alonso blitz and was sacked on second down. Denson then had a solid run making it third and 4. Denson kept it and got 8 yards on a nice run after a stiff arm to the defensive end. An unsportsmanlike penalty on the Raiders backed them up 15 yards. Denson found Tyson for a 14-yard pass and they were back in Alonso territory. Marshall had a nice run but it was negated by another penalty. Treon Williams got back-to-back catches for the Raiders putting them in Alonso’s redzone. Marshall had a nice carry for 12 yards making it second and 2 at the 4-yard line. Another run by Marshall made it first and goal at the 1. The third time was the charm as Marshall ran it in for the touchdown. The score was 38-21 with 6:15 left in the third.
A big return by Alonso got on the Raiders side of the field. After two short runs, Alonso got backed up 5 yards from a false start. A defensive pass interference by the Raiders gave Alonso a first down. It put them at the Raiders 28-yard line. An interception was negated due to a roughing the passer penalty. The Raiders broke up a pass attempt and got a 4 yard sack which brought up third down. Alonso’s quarterback ran wild in the pocket, avoided multiple defenders and threw a touchdown making it 38-28 with 2:39 left in the third.
The Raiders started the following drive at the 31 yard line. Marshall took the first play of the drive for a 69-yard rushing touchdown. The score was 45-28 with 2:10 left in the third.
A delay of game on Alonso backed them up to start the drive. After some short plays, the third quarter ended with the score at 45-28 Raiders.
Alonso started the fourth quarter with a third and long. The Raiders sacked the quarterback, which forced them to go for it at their own 18-yard line. They attempted a last-second punt and it went just a few yards.
The Raiders took over at Alonso’s 20-yard line. Denson found Pierce for a touchdown on a slant pass on the first play of the drive. The score was 52-28 with 10:52 left in the game.
Alonso took over at the 20-yard line and could not get any yardage on two straight plays. As they lined up to go for it, the Raiders coughed up 5 yards on an encroachment penalty. A screen for a small gain made it third and 1 at Alonso’s own 30-yard line. Alonso called a timeout before going for it with 8:21 left in the game. Alonso turned it over as the Raiders tipped the pass and they took over at Alonso’s 29-yard line.
After 3 straight Raiders runs, they went for it on 4th and Denson found Pierce for a first down. Marshall capped off the drive with another rushing touchdown. The score was 59-28 with 6:09 left in the game.
Alonso had good field position to start the drive near midfield. They lost 5 yards on a false start. After Alonso picked up a first down, they called a timeout with 4:08 left in the game. Alonso’s quarterback had a 19-yard run and got to the Raiders side of the field. After two short runs, the Raiders sacked the Alonso quarterback on third down and made it 4th and 5. Defensive end Oscar Valdez had a huge sack for the Raiders resulting in an Alonso turnover on downs. The Raiders took over with 1:29 left in the game. The Raiders ran out the clock and the game ended 59-28.
The Raiders are now 6-2 at their last home game of the season, going 5-0 with wins against Blake, Riverview, Sumner, Lennard, and Alonso.