No Plant City-area teams qualified for the playoffs under the FHSAA’s new points system.
For the first time since I’ve been in Plant City, we don’t have any football teams going to regionals.
Last week’s 35-6 loss to Armwood saw the Durant Cougars miss out on the playoff eight seed by just 1.4 points, a margin so slim Bloomingdale fans had to have breathed a sigh of relief on Selection Sunday. I’m bummed that things didn’t work out for the Cougars, a fun team that had a great start to the season, but that’s just the way the ball bounces sometimes.
The Cougars struck first last week when Carlton Potter finished a 75-yard opening drive with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Agiye Hall, but the Hawks were able to block the PAT. From that point forward, Armwood seized control of the action and cruised to the win despite drawing a ton of penalties. I think it speaks to how loaded that team is that it gave the refs an intense arm workout and still won the game by 29 points.
I know the Cougars missed having Cameron Myers around for that game, as he was out with a fractured collarbone, and I could tell from watching him on the sideline that he wanted nothing more than to put some pads on and go help the team.
It definitely wasn’t the ending Durant and its fans wanted for this season, but I guess the silver lining is that the team manufactured some memorable experiences along the way. There’s the upset win over Jesuit, breaking free in the Alafia River Rivalry game and the Redman Cup shootout with Plant City, and plenty of crowd-pleasing runs by Myers and David Tabakovic.
It will be interesting to see how the Cougars follow up after this season with the loss of Potter, Myers, Tabakovic, Jory Cole, Tanner Jurnigan and other key seniors, but now is the time to start that work.
Speaking of fun teams to watch, the Plant City Raiders got to end their season with a 46-7 win at Wharton last week.
I said on the Gridiron Report podcast last week that Plant City would benefit from picking up a win to head into the offseason on a high note. Braxton Plunk made it happen with a four-touchdown performance and completions to seven different receivers for 240 yards. If I had to pick anybody in the area for a “Most Improved Player” award, it would be Plunk — the leap of progression he’s made since starting at Strawberry Crest last season has been huge.
The Raiders took a step backward from 2016 in terms of the overall record, but you can clearly see when the players began to get the hang of James Booth’s new offense (Sept. 22 against East Bay). This team is only sending off 11 seniors and returning the majority of its key players on offense and defense, and it’s heading into the offseason on a blowout win. I have a feeling a motivated Plant City team with some much-needed consistency at head coach is due for a big step up next season.
Strawberry Crest did not end its 2017 season on a similar high note as Plant City, taking a 43-0 loss to Chamberlain last week. But the Chargers still have reasons to stay positive heading into the offseason to work.
This was the Chargers’ best season in several years — really, since 2013 — and the team’s multiple wins throughout the preseason and regular season look to me like a sign of things turning around. Crest broke several extended losing streaks and gave Dover a taste of victory it hadn’t had in longer than anyone would have liked.
I think this season helped Crest take a big step forward in terms of changing its culture. Ron Hawn has told the Chargers buying in to his system and plans for the program would eventually lead to wins and, with three in 2017, the players have begun to see that it’s not just wishful thinking. This team is going to lose a lot of key players to graduation but, as young as the roster will be in 2018, I think it’s possible this season’s accomplishments can lead to further improvements in the near future.
