All eyes are going to be on Plant City on Friday night, when Durant and Plant City renew their rivalry on the diamond.
And on TV.
It’s always fun for the kids to go to those games and do everything they can to get on TV, and it reminds me of something: My high school was never good enough at sports to get the TV treatment.
I spent all four years at Lake Region High School, in Eagle Lake. Baseball and softball had some good years, but being a Thunder fan was most similar to being a Buffalo Bills fan: The football team always stunk, but it was all most people cared to go watch.
It also meant that there was never the possibility of a television crew coming to film the games, and because you’ll catch a unicorn here before seeing a Bills game, I was usually out of luck if I wanted to watch anything but college ball on TV. So, the coolest thing I ever saw live at a Thunder game was when we played South Lake one year, and future Florida Gator Jeff Demps ran up and down the field like he had Ferraris for feet.
I had always wanted to see one of our rivalry games on TV, like a really good tilt with Auburndale, but I had to settle for something else.
In 2006, there was an early-season matchup between Armwood and Winter Haven that got the Bright House Networks treatment. This is the one game I got to watch on TV, in all four years, because all of my best friends went to Winter Haven and were raving about how they had gotten on TV. The night after the game, I went to a buddy’s house with a group of friends to watch the replay.
Although the sport is different, this upcoming Durant-Plant City game reminds me of Armwood-Winter Haven that year: The big cats versus the underdogs, a highly ranked powerhouse school versus a talented up-and-comer.
And that football game was as good as any prep games I’ve covered or watched as a fan. Armwood took an early 14-0 lead, completely normal for the Hawks, on an 80-yard scoring drive and, immediately after picking off Blue Devils quarterback D.C. Jefferson (now a tight end with the Arizona Cardinals), a 25-yard touchdown pass.
Things didn’t look good for Winter Haven, until linebacker Jake Beacham recovered a Hawks fumble, and the Blue Devils managed to score on the next play — a 20-yard pitch to the running back.
Winter Haven didn’t stop scoring. They held a 19-14 lead over the Hawks in the fourth quarter, until a Blue Devils safety and a late 29-yard field goal tied things up in the closing seconds.
Then, finally, the moment my friends had been waiting for all year. No, not the start of overtime. They were waiting for the end of regulation, when a cameraman walked along the front row of the stands for a close-up fan shot. The guy had just happened to catch my buddies on TV, and they were all jumping up and down in the living room like they had just won $10,000 at the Hard Rock.
Armwood scored on its first OT possession but botched the PAT snap. All Winter Haven had to do was score and convert on the PAT, and they did just that — a 10-yard fullback dive went for six, and the kick was good. I never attended WHHS, but even I was thrilled with the win.
That win did wonders for Jefferson, who then started getting big-time interest from LSU and Rutgers (to this day, I’ll never know why he chose to play TE in Jersey when he had a shot to compete for the Tigers’ starting QB job). It also did wonders for my buddies’ egos, at least for a week.
So, Cougar and Raider fans: If you can’t make it to Friday night’s baseball game, definitely take the opportunity to watch it on TV. After all, not all of us were fortunate enough to go to high schools with TV-quality athletics.