Without question, tonight’s football game will be the biggest that Plant City High has hosted in quite some time.
The Raiders, having won their district for the first time in nearly a decade, finally get to have a home field advantage in the FHSAA playoffs, after several years of enduring tough road crowds. And, for the first time since 2013, they won’t have to face Sickles High.
Tonight, Plant City will take on the East Lake Eagles, of Tarpon Springs. Many readers probably have one question: Just who are these guys?
OFFENSE
East Lake enters the playoffs with a 7-4 overall record and a 3-2 mark in district play. The Eagles happen to play in the same district as a one-loss Countryside team that has proven itself to be the real deal in 2015.
The Eagles started the season with a 1-4 record, beating Largo by a field goal and losing three games by a combined 21 points. But after losing to St. Petersburg, East Lake went on a four-game tear, outscoring opponents 158-27 before running into the wrecking ball that is Countryside on Oct. 30. East Lake ended the season on a two-game win streak, featuring a 7-3 win over Pinellas and a 45-21 win over Clearwater.
East Lake has edged out Plant City in the passing game, averaging more than 20 more pass yards per game with a 64% completion rate, compared to the Raiders’ 49%. The Eagles have thrown 10 touchdown passes against just one interception, courtesy of backup Tyler Rupe. Senior starter Bobby Goldinak owns nine of those 10 touchdown passes, as well as a 68% completion rate.
But the ground game is East Lake’s forte. Last week, running back Xavier Jackson finished the night with 192 yards and four rushing touchdowns, including three in the first half. East Lake pounded the rock with Jackson, Tupac Blanch and Michael Del Duca, and the efforts doubled the season touchdown totals for both Jackson (eight) and Del Duca (two).
The Eagles’ mark of 134 yards per game doesn’t quite touch Plant City’s 169, however, and Jackson has just slightly more than half the yardage of Markese Hargrove (1,169 yards). Only Blanch has a higher yards-per-carry average (9.5) than any given Raider, and he doesn’t get nearly as many touches as Jackson.
Still, with the team’s hot hand being its running game, it’s reasonable to think that they’ll try to carry that momentum over to a game against a stifling Plant City defense.
DEFENSE
Seriously — linebackers Cory Cotnoir and Steven Ogletree, who each have over 100 tackles in 2015, have out-tackled more than half of the Eagles in 2015 by themselves. The Raiders also boast the more formidable pass rush, picking up 38 sacks to East Lake’s 17.5. The Eagles’ O-line will certainly have its work cut out for it.
Although there’s no doubt that Plant City wins the battle of the two defenses, East Lake’s offense and its ability to get hot can’t be counted out this early. The Raiders will probably miss having defensive back Peyton Collins around for this one, as one of the keys to winning this game will certainly be the Raiders’ ability to force Goldinak into some bad decisions.
Whether the winner of this game is Plant City or East Lake, the next round of the playoffs should get interesting for whichever squad advances. The next opponent on the list will be the winner of Countryside-Tampa Bay Tech, a battle between a red-hot district champion and one of the most physical defenses in Hillsborough County.
Plant City does have a regular-season defeat of Tech to its name, but a matchup with the Cougars — who also ended the season with an extended win streak and a flawless district record — would be even more intriguing.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
IF YOU GO
Plant City vs. East Lake
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. today.
WHERE: Plant City High School, 1 Raider Place.