Ever since Pam Bowden helped start the Battle for the Redman Cup rivalry nine school years ago, the Plant City-Durant football game has become one of the biggest draws in town.
While the game was always special to Pam Bowden and her family, the Durant principal has another reason to look forward to this year’s game Friday, Oct. 16. Her sister, Susan Sullivan, is now principal of PCHS.
They aren’t Jim Redman’s only daughters, but Pam Bowden and Susan Sullivan are perhaps the two with the strongest link to the trophy. There is a picture of their sons, Chip Bowden and Aaron Sullivan, with Redman, on the trophy.
Born six weeks apart, Chip Bowden played quarterback for the Cougars while Aaron Sullivan played center for the Raiders.
Redman — long considered one of the best football players PCHS ever fielded — was an avid supporter of both programs, especially when his grandsons were playing from the 2002-03 to 2005-06 school years. Redman would sit in the end zone — his allegiance split equally down the middle for his grandsons and their teams.
“My dad loved to come see them play,” Susan Sullivan says. “That picture was taken at the last game that he attended, when the two of them played. He was a huge supporter of Plant City High School and, when Pam came here, he supported their school as well. My mom found it very fitting to give a trophy to the winner of this game because it did mean so much to my dad.”
Redman died in between the boys’ 2006 high school graduations, and the Redman Cup was created in time for the 2006-07 school year. Previously, Durant and Plant City didn’t have a football trophy to play for, despite their proximity to one another.
While the sisters do encourage good sportsmanship and fan friendliness for this game, their loyalties lie firmly with their schools. All three Bowden children attended Durant, just as all three Sullivan children attended Plant City. There are some friendly bragging rights at stake here.
But, according to the sisters, most of those rights will be had outside of the Redman family.
“I think it’s more talk for other people than us,” Pam Bowden says.
ON THE FIELD
Many of the people Pam Bowden was referring to are probably those who will be playing in the game.
Unlike previous years, Plant City and Durant are now on top of their district with talented, yet noticeably different, teams and approaches. This game could decide both teams’ playoff seeding.
Lennard’s 26-14 loss to East Bay in the Friday, Oct. 9, action made Plant City the only team with a perfect 7A-9 record. It also gave Durant sole possession of second place, since the Cougars had played one more district game.
Lennard dropped into a 2-1 tie for third place with Tampa Bay Tech. The tie will likely be settled when the two teams play each other Friday, Oct. 16.
The 6-1 Raiders are on an excellent defensive run at the moment, allowing a combined 16 points in their last four games, including the Friday, Oct. 9, 14-0 shutout at Bloomingdale.
The offense hasn’t been lighting up the scoreboard over the past two weeks, scoring all but three points in second-half action, but running back Markese Hargrove and quarterback Corey King have been running the ball well enough to control the pace.
Head coach Greg Meyer will have to address one huge problem: in last week’s action, defensive back Peyton Collins was lost to injury and will not play this week. Collins, a senior, is one of the defense’s two most important players. Whoever Meyer taps to replace him will have big shoes to fill.
The 6-1 Cougars have gotten over their double-overtime loss to Lennard, with back-to-back wins against Bloomingdale and Strawberry Crest. They looked nearly identical on paper: a 26-14 win followed by a 27-14 win.
Against Crest (0-7; 0-4 district), the Cougars were able to score early and often enough to fend off a surprisingly scrappy Chargers team that was never really out of the game.
Durant’s pass defense wasn’t exactly stellar, giving up 291 yards (134 to wideout Chase Lawson, who almost always seemed to be open), but its run defense allowed just 33 yards. Going up against Plant City, that’s probably the more important of the two numbers.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN
Following last week’s 27-14 loss to Durant, the Chargers have entered a much-needed bye week.
Given the team’s performance in its last two games, it will be interesting to see what new head coach Jim Peaden will cook up for the Friday, Oct. 23, game against East Bay (4-3; 1-2 district), which will look to follow up last week’s upset win over Lennard with a win over Bloomingdale (0-6; 0-3 district).
WHERE: 4691 Gallagher Road, Dover
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23
PRINCIPALS’ PREDICTIONS
Durant’s Pam Bowden thinks the Friday, Oct. 16, game will be decided by seven points
Plant City’s Susan Sullivan thinks the team that draws the fewest flags will win.