Isn’t it funny how things work out, sometimes?
A late-season push by Plant City High School pushed both the Raiders and Durant into the playoffs. Durant took the district title, thanks to their win over East Bay. That was all just two weeks ago, after things weren’t looking too certain.
Now that the playoff seeding has been determined, both Plant City-area schools are set to find themselves facing familiar foes Friday, Nov. 14.
REVENGE
Maybe the most lasting image of last year’s playoff loss at Sickles was that of then-quarterback Landon Galloway after the game, barely standing up while hanging his head down in defeat.
It was the most dejected look a Raider had had on his face all year and for good reason: With a chance to score from the Gryphons’ 30 on the final play of the game, Galloway was brought down as time expired. A touchdown, plus a successful PAT, would have put the Raiders and Gryphons into overtime. A touchdown and successful two-point conversion would have won it.
It’s an image that Plant City’s current seniors and juniors still have in their minds, along with their own reactions, and they’re determined to not let it happen again.
“I feel like we’re more of a team now,” senior Quay Young says. “I feel like we’re ready.”
While those on the outside can’t really tell how much “more” of a team these 2014 Raiders are by looking, Young speaks with a tone of conviction — not one of bravado.
“We just understand what we’ve got to do when we go out there, now,” Young says. “We’re more focused, and everything, as a team.”
If the Raiders’ 2013 season was a little more upbeat, with the offense putting up beaucoup points and winning eight of 10 games, then 2014 has been more of a wake-up call. After winning just one of its first four games (including a tie in the season opener with Steinbrenner), something clicked with this team. It played much better football in the next five games, losing two by a total of three points and winning two of the other three by double digits.
Plant City nearly lost the Halloween game against Brandon, which would have kept it out of the playoffs. But a late Sawyer Dawson fumble recovery — made possible by Patrick Colleran’s hit — let this team take the district’s second playoff spot for the second year in a row.
Which, of course, meant that it’ll also have to play Sickles for the second year in a row.
It’s not quite the same Sickles team, though. While the 2013 Gryphons boasted a solid receiving corps, all of the seniors who caught 18 of Isaac Holder’s 19 touchdown passes are gone. So is Holder’s stellar 18-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio, which is now 11-to-7. Ray Ray McCloud III is still here, of course, and is on pace to match his 2013 yardage and touchdown totals with around 180 more carries — if Sickles advances far enough in the playoffs, that is.
The 2014 Gryphons finished the regular season at 7-3, and lost only once at home. That was a 54-6 blowout, courtesy of the Plant Panthers, but no other visiting team has come within two scores of Sickles.
Can the Raiders fix last year’s mistakes and find redemption off of Gunn Highway?
FLASHBACK FRIDAY
They say that history repeats itself. If that’s true, then it’s good news for the Durant Cougars.
They’re facing Tampa Bay Tech for the second time this season, but that’s not where the recent history between the Titans and Cougars ends.
Nov. 16, 2012 was the last time these two teams met in the playoffs, and that game ended up being a 34-7 stepping stone in the Cougars’ romp through the playoff bracket.
Last year’s 31-10 home loss notwithstanding, Durant has historically been very good when facing the Titans. Along with that 2012 playoff win, the Cougars made up for the 2013 game with a 34-20 win on the road back in mid-September, fueled by quarterback Erick Davis’s spectacular five-touchdown scoring effort.
One could probably start any conversation about the 2014 Cougars by saying, “last year notwithstanding,” because head coach Mike Gottman and his team have really turned things around this year.
This team got off to a hot 3-1 start, losing at Armwood and beating both Sickles and Tampa Bay Tech, and Davis’s play at quarterback helped wake up an offense that almost seemed like it was in a coma last season.
The Cougars rolled with the read-option offense more often than not, but proved that it could throw the ball in a 55-49 loss to Hillsborough, in which senior Garrett Rentz finished with eight catches for 202 yards and two touchdowns.
Even though it got that big win over the Titans early in the season, Durant’s not taking this game lightly. Yes, it’s an opponent that the Cougars have already beaten soundly. Yes, there was that playoff game in November, two years ago, where Durant hosted Tech and beat them soundly. No, you won’t hear Gottman say anything like, “We’re not worried about this game.”
The Titans, another 5-5 team, started at 1-3 and ripped off a four-game win streak through October to make up some ground. Their biggest win was by 15 points, over Steinbrenner, and they also gained the upper hand over Plant City, Freedom and Gaither — one playoff team and one team that would have made the playoffs with a win. They then lost to Sickles by one touchdown, 21-14, before Hillsborough laid a 42-7 beatdown on them.
This team also relies on a mobile quarterback, but Tech relies on Deon Cain’s legs much more often than Durant does with Davis. Cain has rushed for 1,180 yards and 10 scores on 178 carries, compared to Davis’s 833 yards and 12 scores on 125 carries. Tech’s Zavid Hill is second on the team with 61 carries.
These are two similar teams, though Durant’s offensive output has been greater all season. It’s scored 257 points, compared to Tech’s 185. As far as defenses are concerned, the two teams are within 20 points in the “Allowed” category. Durant has given up 230, while Tech has allowed 250.
The Cougars were, without a doubt, the better team on September 12. Can they outpoint the Titans again, just over two months later?
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Games start at 7:30 p.m.
Tampa Bay Tech at Durant (4748 Cougar Path, Plant City)
Plant City at Sickles (7950 Gunn Hwy., Tampa)
Next Week: TBD