It may be for only two quarters, but Plant City’s three high school football teams this week will be playing against someone other than themselves for the first time in 2013.
Armwood High will host the 2013 Spring Jamboree, which will feature all three Plant City schools. Rivals Plant City and Durant will face off in the first half, while Strawberry Crest will play host Armwood in the second.
The games come a week removed from the team’s spring scrimmages, after spring practice began at the beginning of May.
This year’s jamboree is unique, because it will allow the three Plant City schools to see each other before they square off this fall in district play. An offseason realignment by the FHSAA put Durant, Plant City and Strawberry Crest in the same class and district (Class 7A District 8) for the first time.
“We’ve been beating on each other for the last three weeks, so it will be nice to line up and hit someone else for a change,” Durant head coach Mike Gottman said. “Emotions should be high, (because) we’re playing Plant City, even with it being a spring game.”
The Cougars are coming off their best season in program history, after finishing the 2012 regular season 10-0 and advancing to the district semifinals, where they lost to Newsome. Durant lost some key players on defense and its offensive line, but its biggest loss was in its backfield with fullback Jamarlon Hamilton.
Rising junior tailback Crispian Atkins will carry a lot of the load. Kadarius Griffin is one of the options to replace Hamilton at fullback.
“I want to see if we made progress from the beginning of spring to where we are now,” Gottman said about the jamboree. “I want to see good execution and high emotions and just play hard-nosed football.”
For Plant City, they will get to evaluate several new names at different positions.
According to head coach Wayne Ward, rising senior Landon Galloway won’t play in the jamboree due to a dislocated shoulder injury. Galloway is expected to start at quarterback this fall after playing wide receiver in 2012.
Rayquan Johnson will get the majority of snaps Thursday.
The Raiders return a lot of talent, including highly recruited players in Montel McBride and Sedrick King.
“This will give us a chance to see some of our young guys in action,” Ward said. “We’re going to run our base offense and defense, but it will be a lot different than what you saw on film last year.”
For Strawberry Crest, which will be moving up a class to join Durant and Plant City, Thursday’s jamboree will be a good measuring tool for how the program has progressed under head coach John Kelly.
“It will be a great test for us against Armwood,” Kelly said. “Last year was about getting the kids to believe in themselves. Now, we want to continue that confidence level and come out and compete.”
The Chargers will be breaking in several new players on defense, especially its linebacking core, which lost seniors Andrew Zuluaga, Jarrett Gretebeck and
Michael Mitchell. They will return quarterback Tristan Hyde, a rising junior, and rising senior wideout Alex Carswell, who already has several Division I offers, including his latest offer from Middle Tennessee State.
Kelly said there were six DI colleges at the Chargers spring scrimmage May 18 — the most ever in the young history of SCHS.
“That’s big for us, because they’ll come to watch one guy and end up getting interested in others,” Kelly said. “It’s great exposure for our program.”
SPRING FOOTBALL
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. May 23
WHERE: Armwood High School; 12000 U.S. 92, Seffner
DETAILS: Plant City vs. Durant in the first half, and Strawberry Crest vs. Armwood in the second
