Finally, football has come back to Plant City!
If you’re reading this, I’m sure you’re just as excited for the 2015 high school season as I am. After what felt (to me) like the longest summer ever, it’s good to be back in the routine dictated by prep sports and spending every Friday night on the sidelines, from now until (hopefully) the end of the FHSAA playoffs. For all we know, it could happen.
I truly think there are some great things on the horizon for all three of our area teams, and that you need to get in the loop as soon as possible. I’m hoping that this guide will get you prepared to go watch your favorite team(s) with every bit of information you’d possibly want to know. After all, you won’t get in-depth coverage of Durant, Plant City or Strawberry Crest anywhere else.
As with last year’s guide, we’re going to break it down on a team-by-team basis. Recaps of 2014, outlooks for 2015, offensive and defensive schemes, and players to watch will all be covered here, and I’ll also be making my own predictions for each squad. If you disagree, and you’re a player or coach, feel free to prove me wrong on the field — I’ll be revisiting my predictions at the end of the season, looking at what I got right and what I got wrong, and will have no problem eating some humble pie.
Of course, you’re probably also interested in #FlashbackFridays. We chose that theme for this year’s guide because, even though two of our schools are fairly new, each program either has some great historic tidbits to dwell on or, in Strawberry Crest’s case, is writing its own history as it goes. You’ll even get to check out some cool vintage photos of football in the Plant City area from years past, courtesy of our good friends at the Plant City Photo Archives & History Center.
If the cover art caught your eye, know that there’s even more great stuff waiting for you as you flip through the pages. We opted to go for original drawings this year to tip our hats to football programs from decades past, in which you’d find school mascots getting the upper hand over whatever the other team’s mascot was. Of course, we wanted to keep it modern and commissioned local artist Jesse Starr to represent each school in his own, unique style. We think you’ll like what you see.
And, yes, that hashtag does serve a purpose: let us know you’re reading our guide on social media by using that hashtag and mentioning our Twitter handle, @PCTOSports, or our Plant City Times & Observer Facebook page.
I won’t keep you stuck on this page any longer. Welcome to the 2015 Plant City Times & Observer Football Guide, and I hope you enjoy it!