Maybe it’s fair to say that losing defensive studs such as Montel McBride, John Broome and Sedrick King has hurt the Plant City Raiders. What’s not fair to say, though, is that these losses sucked the life out of this defense.
Nowadays, one just has to look a little further up the field than the defensive line.
The linebacker corps showed a lot of promise last season, often taking care of any problems that that D-line ran into, and it looks like that potential has been realized.
“They’ve been coming downhill and playing fast and furious,” head coach Wayne Ward says. “I’m liking how they’re playing right now.”
THE OLD GUARD
Is there a better one-two punch in the area than seniors Sawyer Dawson and Patrick Colleran?
Probably not.
Combined, the two have 108 total tackles in 2014. Colleran leads the team with 73 and totaled 161 last season. Both are highly regarded by Ward and the defensive coaches for their athleticism, drive and toughness. If these guys ever quit on a play, pigs will fly.
Dawson had a breakout year in 2013, posting 87 tackles and three picks, and proved himself to be an excellent complement to the talents of Broome and King. If those two forced the quarterback to throw, then Dawson had a knack for guessing where the ball was headed and making the play.
Dawson’s play earned him plenty of interest from well-known college programs, and he is currently committed to play for Purdue next year. While his numbers aren’t as high as last season’s, his presence on this defense is still invaluable.
Patrick Colleran, on the other hand, is having his breakout year right now. He needs just one more tackle to match his 2013 total, and there are still four games left to play. He also leads the team with three forced fumbles and recently had a 20-tackle game against East Bay.
If Dawson’s strength is his versatility as a defender — courtesy of his athleticism and great situational awareness — then Colleran’s would be his motor. He might be the most outspoken player on the defense, if not the entire roster, and is always looking to fire up the team and the crowd with a big defensive stop.
Colleran hasn’t committed to a college yet. Schools have just recently started showing their interest, but it’s a sure bet that he’ll play somewhere at the next level.
THE YOUNG GUNS
It looks like Plant City’s linebacker corps will continue to be good after Dawson and Colleran graduate, given that junior Cory Cotnoir and sophomore Steven Ogletree also are making an impact.
This season has been a change of pace for Cotnoir, who spent 2013 backing up Landon Galloway at quarterback and, at one point, appeared to be the new man for that job until Corey King was given the reps and Austin Carswell entered the picture.
The coaches decided Cotnoir would be more comfortable at a different position and moved him to linebacker.
It looks like they were on to something.
“He’s just a tough, downhill, hard-nosed kid that just wants to prove himself,” Ward says. “We love what he’s doing right now.”
With the other three linebackers seeing more snaps, Cotnoir’s numbers aren’t comparable to the rest of the group’s right now. It’s that desire to prove himself — to make an impact — that the coaches love, and they’re expecting him to rise to the challenge once Dawson and Colleran are gone in 2015.
On the other hand, Ogletree already has made a big impact as a sophomore. Plant City has never really had any qualms about getting a sophomore heavily involved in the varsity game if he’s got the talent to make an impact, and Ogletree appears to be that guy in 2014.
When Plant City hosted the VTO Combine this past summer, Ogletree was one of the younger players that assistant head coach Greg Meyer was most excited about for this season. Now, it’s probably obvious why Meyer was so happy to talk about him: he’s currently second on the team in both total tackles (63) and tackles per game (10.5, compared to Colleran’s 12.2).
Talent such as Cotnoir’s and Ogletree’s likely will keep Plant City’s linebacker corps relevant in 2015, especially if this backer factory can produce another stud or two in the offseason.
RAIDERS VS. SPARTANS
This isn’t last year’s Spoto team that’s coming to town.
These Spartans are 3-3 (0-1 district) and looking to avenge last year’s 33-14 loss to the Raiders.
“Oh, man, they’re athletic as heck,” Ward says. “You’ve got to contain them. You’ve got to play assignment football.”
A lot of this comes from senior athlete Todd Sims, who has 488 rushing yards (7.1 YPC), 276 receiving yards and eight total touchdowns. Standing at 6-foot-1, he’s a little on the tall side for a running back. He’s perfect for getting involved in the passing game.
This is where those Plant City linebackers will come in handy, because they’re all also “athletic as heck.” The Raiders’ ability to contain the ground attack and limit what Sims can do in that offense will be the key to coming up with a Homecoming win for the first time, well, at least since Colleran can remember.
“I haven’t ever won a Homecoming game here at Plant City,” he says. “It would be really nice to win one, especially my senior year. I can go out with a bang.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
MATCHUPS
DURANT
Last week’s game against Newsome was awesome, if only to the unbiased football fan (and, of course, Newsome fans). But for Durant (4-2; 2-0 district), it was a loss that undoubtedly stung for a few days.
The Cougars will get to take out their frustration on a Brandon Eagles team that’s currently 4-2 but still seeking that first district win. Brandon’s four wins have come against Blake, Riverview, Chamberlain and Middleton — teams that have a grand total of six wins combined (including none for Middleton).
Against Bloomingdale, the closest team in skill to Durant that the Eagles have faced all year, Brandon only lost by six points. When this Durant team is on, it’s much better than the Bulls. If it’s off, like in the Gaither game, then this one could go either way.
STRAWBERRY CREST
The game against Riverview went about as well as expected — for two of the quarters.
After starting things off with a 13-7 lead, the Chargers (1-6; 1-1 district) gave up 20 unanswered points in the second quarter and took a 48-26 loss on the road.
It was a better game for the passing side, as Tristan Hyde went 25-37 for 245 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. A.J. Quinn even caught 10 passes, totaling 80 yards, and Clay Cullins caught five passes for 41 yards, one for a touchdown. The ground game could only muster 59 yards and two Arjay Smith scores.
It certainly wasn’t how they wanted to go into the final game of this two-week road trip, a district game at East Bay. The Indians (3-4; 0-1 district) may be worse off in the district than Crest, but a Chargers loss would certainly switch some things around in the picture.
East Bay is currently on a two-game losing streak, dropping the Plant City game two weeks ago and getting wrecked at Bloomingdale 42-21 last Friday. That, at least, bodes well for the Chargers.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
All games begin at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted:
OCT. 17
Durant at Brandon, 1101 Victoria St., Brandon
Spoto at Plant City, 1 Raider Place, Plant City
Strawberry Crest at East Bay, 7710 Big Bend Road, Gibsonton
OCT. 24
Hillsborough at Durant, 4748 Cougar Path, Plant City
Plant City at Strawberry Crest, 4691 Gallagher Road, Dover