Do you have a good sports scoop for us? Email Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
SOCCER
+ Boys season comes to a close
As the district tournaments wrapped up last week, the Plant City area was left with one representative in the regional tournaments.
In the 4A-District 9 tournament, the Plant City Raiders made it to the championship game after defeating Hillsborough, 2-1, Jan. 22. In the Jan. 23 championship game, however, the East Bay Indians were able to get the upper hand and secure a 1-0 victory.
In 5A-District 6 play, Durant and Strawberry Crest were both eliminated early. The Cougars dropped their quarterfinal game against George Jenkins, 3-2, Jan. 20, and the Chargers fell to eventual champion Newsome, 5-0, the same night.
The Raiders fell to Palmetto, 5-3, in Thursday’s regional quarterfinal game.
BASKETBALL
+ Girls rack up wins to end season
Going into this week’s district tournament, all three area girls basketball teams were able to close out the 2014-15 regular season on a good note.
Durant, which had lost three straight games, ended things with a win and a little momentum after holding Robinson to 30 points in a 35-30 home win. Led by Tamara Hanson’s 11 points, a win was exactly what the team needed to lift its spirits before going into a tough tournament schedule.
Plant City may have dropped its final game by two points, losing to Middleton, but entered the tournament on a two-game district winning streak — three games total, counting a 58-55 non-district win over Armwood Jan. 21. The Lady Raiders finished with a 9-1 district record, tied with Strawberry Crest, the only 7A-7 team to beat Plant City.
Tournament host Strawberry Crest hadn’t lost a game since the Seffner Christian New Year’s Tournament and held two of its last four regular-season opponents to under 20 points in blowout wins. To close things out Jan. 23, the Lady Chargers beat Middleton, 64-53, at home after an 81-40 win over Spoto Jan. 21.
Strawberry Crest edged out Plant City for the district title on Thursday night.
CHEERLEADING
+ Crest three-peats at Western Conference
The Western Conference was Tuesday, Jan. 20, at Durant High School.
Strawberry Crest High School won for the third year in a row, with a score of 348 in the final championship competition.
In the preliminary competition, SCHS scored 355.50, beating second-place Freedom High School by 40.9 points.
Durant High School tied for sixth place with Gaither High School in the final championship competition. Both teams had a score of 288. In the preliminary competition, DHS placed 10th, with a score of 265.25.
Plant City High School placed 13th, with a score of 258 in the preliminary competition.