Justin Kline reflects on one of the busiest football weeks in recent memory.
How badly did Hurricane Irma wreck high school football’s scheduling? To put a local lens on it, Durant will have played three games in 10 days after tonight’s action, while Plant City and Strawberry Crest will have each played three over nine days.
Before this week, I hadn’t covered high school ball on a Monday night since 2013. Even then, it was a three-way district tiebreaker at Plant City — not a full game for the Raiders or Chargers or East Bay. That’s not as much of a grind on the body as what our local players are working through now.
On Sept. 27, the Cougars went to Newsome to start a four-game road trip and walked out with a 42-24 win. For those who have been following the Alafia River Rivalry for at least the last four years, such a large lead for any team is unheard of.
But that’s what you get when your running game is working as well as it possibly could. Durant tallied 454 yards and six touchdowns on the ground between Cameron Myers, David Tabakovic, Kevontae Crews and Carlton Potter. Is there a better one-two punch in the county than Myers and Tabakovic behind that offensive line? I have my doubts. Durant looks like it could go far with the offense running as well as it has all season — even after Monday’s 18-15 overtime loss against East Bay, which should be something of a wake-up call for the team.
The Raiders picked up a 35-7 win over Crest in the teams’ Sept. 28 “Farmageddon” game at 1 Raider Place. In particular, I was thinking Braxton Plunk could have a big game against his former team. With five total touchdowns to his name by the end of the night, I’d say he didn’t disappoint.
On Monday, the Raiders played at Lennard and won convincingly, 34-14, thanks to strong performances from both quarterbacks and freshman wideout Mario Williams. I think the team’s starting to gain the offensive confidence it lacked early on and, while I’m not sure it’s ready for the challenge Armwood presents, I think Plant City fans should be pleased to see the unit is figuring things out and results are coming.
The Chargers are still searching for their second win of the season after losing to Plant City and, on Monday, taking a 54-0 home loss to Tampa Bay Tech. That’s not a loss the Chargers and fans should beat themselves up over, as Tech is consistently one of the best teams in what might be the state of Florida’s best all-around football county. Luckily for Crest, the remaining schedule should be significantly easier to deal with than the Durant-Plant City-Tech run.
I have to add a quick note about Crest here: I said before the season that Nov. 3 against Chamberlain could be a winnable game for the Chargers. The Chiefs, like their NFL counterparts, have been mostly excellent this season and do not look like the Chamberlain teams we’ve seen in the last few years. Suddenly, I’m not so sure about that one. I have, however, changed my mind about the Riverview game next Friday. I’m calling it one for Crest fans to watch for, as the Sharks appear to be punching around the same weight class this season.
