The Plant City Raiders’ 2014 season was, for lack of a better word, weird.
If someone with no knowledge of the season were to ask a Raiders fan how it went, that person would probably hear about the end result. Plant City went 3-1 in the district and rode a late-season win streak into the playoffs — beating the top team at home to secure a playoff spot — only to lose to Sickles and one of the best running backs in the country by just two points in the postseason. And, they’d also hear all about how the Raiders’ top running back essentially came out of nowhere to have a 1,300-yard season, leading the team into the postseason.
That all sounds great, because it is.
But “gotta hear both sides” is more than just a popular Twitter catchphrase, so it’s also worth noting that the Raiders finished 2014 with a 4-6-1 record, were less than stellar in most other areas of the offense and drew enough penalty flags against themselves to line up from 1 Raider Place to Raymond James Stadium.
To their credit, the Raiders did tend to win big whenever they did win. Besides that thriller of a 20-14 win over Brandon, Plant City never won by fewer than two touchdowns. Those three wins didn’t come against good teams, but they did illustrate what the offense was capable of if it could get into a rhythm. Against Brandon, the Raiders showed what they could do against a good team if everyone could focus.
And when they lost, it was almost always close. Leaving off a 38-11 loss at Gaither in the regular season finale, Plant City lost its regular-season games by a combined total of nine points.
Of course, the team’s Sept. 19, 9-7 loss to Durant should also get a mention here. As much as the Cougars’ players like to say that the monsoon the game was played in kept them from getting a bigger win, the reality is that Plant City could have snatched that win with less than a minute left and went undefeated in the district. It was too close for the fans’ and players’ comfort, which is probably why most of the Cougars already have Oct. 16 circled on their calendars.
With a talented roster, including a transfer quarterback in Austin Carswell, who once nearly led Strawberry Crest to the promised land, it wouldn’t be unrealistic for Raiders fans to look at those results and say, “Fluke,” at all. Perhaps it was a fluke. The 2015 season should give everyone a pretty good idea of what this team is about, either way.
Many fans were shocked in the offseason when Wayne Ward, head coach since 2010, announced his resignation from the job. Ward, who is still a teacher at the school, most recently led the team to back-to-back playoff appearances, and was beloved by many for his ability to both build character and get kids into college. The school decided in March to promote assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Greg Meyer, who has previous head coaching experience at Jacksonville-Wolfson High.
“It’s been great,” Meyer said. “It’s certainly been hectic, but I’ve got to tell you: the amount of support I’ve gotten from the community has made it a lot easier than it would be otherwise … It’s been hectic, but it’s been fun.”
Meyer, who has developed more than a handful of defensive players into NCAA Division I talents, had also been one of Ward’s greatest assets from a collegiate standpoint. In his three years at Plant City, Meyer was largely responsible for keeping the school connected to the collegiate recruiting scene and putting players in the scouts’ spotlights.
And, these days, it’s tough to find anyone more excited to see what this team can do than Meyer.
“We’re poised for a great season,” Meyer says. “We have a tougher schedule, but I think we’re in position to be able to battle that successfully.”
COMING UP
Plant City fans have every reason to be bouncing in their seats right now. Meyer’s defenses have been consistently good throughout the past three years, even with turnover and returns impact players, such as linebacker Steven Ogletree and versatile defensive back Peyton Collins. On offense, he’ll get to work with a battle-tested Markese Hargrove, emergent wideout Antoine Thompson and — in perhaps the luckiest break for any team in the area — returning star wideout Tavares “T.J.” Chase. Tying it all together is junior signal-caller Corey King, whose offseason development reportedly went about exactly as Plant City had hoped it would.
“Corey King impressed us a lot in the spring, but he impressed us even more in the summer,” Meyer says. “When we did the 7-on-7 leagues, and all the passing stuff, he continued that progress. We feel really good about where Corey is right now, as far as running the offense goes.”
The schemes will look very similar on both sides of the ball, as Meyer wishes to continue running a base 4-2-5 defense and spread offense, though he does say that the ground attack will be a greater focus than it was before. With most of the team’s impact players returning, it appears as though Plant City should have little trouble adjusting to the Meyer era.
“I think, every year, we’ll try to evolve,” Meyer says. “I don’t think we’ll be exactly the same, but the emphasis on fundamentals and being consistent will stay the same.”
The biggest question mark facing this team is its discipline. When a team draws as many penalties and makes as many mistakes as the Raiders did in 2014, it will have an effect on the season. Teams can work all day long on their discipline, practice after practice, but anyone who’s ever stepped onto a field can vouch that it’s different on game day. Everything is different on game day.
Will the Raiders be different enough to take the next step?