1. DURANT BASEBALL
After starting the 2013 season with two consecutive ties, the Durant Cougars made a remarkable run to the Class 8A State Championship game and had its star player drafted 55th overall. Although Alonso finished with a better record in the district — by virtue of playing one more game than the Cougars did — Durant outscored its opponents 11-1 in the district tournament to go to the playoffs.
Much of the Cougars’ success in 2013 was the result of Tyler Danish’s magnum opus on the mound, but the pitcher also proved himself to be quite capable in the batter’s box. Danish’s .411 batting average led everyone on the team with more than two at-bats, and his 25 runs, 37 hits, and 27 RBI led the team. It was also a great season for senior Luke Heyer, who batted .381 with 22 runs, 32 hits and 18 RBI. Heyer will likely lead the charge on offense in Danish’s absence and, having lost only four seniors to graduation, this team can still make some noise.
As three of those four seniors were pitchers, though, that will be the biggest question mark hovering over the team. It should be noted, however, that two of the remaining pitchers posted sub-0.6 ERA’s, and Heyer himself finished with a respectable 2.10.
2. DURANT VOLLEYBALL
Thanks to its volleyball team, Durant athletics can boast about having two perfect regular seasons in two years. After a 2-1 preseason loss to Bloomingdale, the Lady Cougars followed up with a 25-win streak, dropping just seven sets. Only Steinbrenner and Bloomingdale threatened to ruin Durant’s bid for a perfect regular season, but the Lady Cougars pulled out some late-game heroics in each contest to win, 3-2.
Although senior Lexi Thompson didn’t come close to replicating her 295-kill junior season, she and fellow senior Victoria Fanning still played like one of the best one-two punches in the county. Thompson was actually a little more efficient in 2013, raising her hit percentage from 45% to 50%, but Fanning made the biggest jump in that area — going from 29% in 2012 to 45% in 2013.
Durant’s feat is even more impressive considering the solid seasons Plant City and Strawberry Crest had. Both schools finished with a 7-3 district record, well ahead of the competition.
Although the Lady Cougars were swept, 3-0, by Steinbrenner in the regional semifinals, it looks like Durant is almost back to its “glory days.”
3. PLANT CITY DOLPHINS (VARSITY)
Although 2013 was a good year for all of the Dolphins teams, it was the Varsity squad that came away with the most goods to show for it.
It was the only one of the five Dolphins teams to go undefeated in 2013, a perfect 9-0 romp that never saw the team score fewer than 22 points. Their season high was 63, which they dropped on the Antioch Redskins on Sept. 28. They then stormed through the playoff bracket all the way to the Superbowl, where they picked up a 34-8 win over the East Bay Buccaneers and took home the trophies.
They then followed up their TCYFCC successes with a run through the United Youth Football League National Championships, held Dec. 7 to 13, in Plant City. For the first time in over two years, they defeated the Naperville (Ill.) Patriots to advance to the championship game, where they defeated the Brooklyn Renegades, 16-6.
Things didn’t go as well as planned at the Game Day of Champions on Dec. 21, when the Dolphins lost, 15-12, to the Brandon Ravens.
Even with that loss, the Dolphins will enter 2014 with their heads held high.
4. PLANT CITY GIRLS SOCCER
Second-year coach Caleb Roberts got to open 2013 by leading the Lady Raiders through the district tournament, beginning a 17-2 run that’s still going today.
Plant City was very good in the 2012-13 season, posting an 11-4-3 record and winning its second consecutive district title. Also, for the first time in school history, the team advanced all the way to the regional final, though they ended up on the losing side of a 1-0 game against Lakewood Ranch.
Now that the girls have had more time to become comfortable in Roberts’ system, they’ve been nearly unstoppable this season. After a 1-0 loss to Newsome, which MaxPreps ranks as the No. 17 team in the country, the Lady Raiders took out their frustrations with a four-game, 45-goal run through late November and early December.
It’s all a part of their extremely balanced attack: 18 girls have scored goals this season, compared to 10 last year. Ericka Lott, the team’s only double-digit scorer last year, is now joined in the 10-goals-or-more club by fellow seniors Diana Corzine and assists leader Stephanie Galloway.
5. PLANT CITY FOOTBALL
These guys, perhaps more than anyone in the district, are stacked from top to bottom.
Much of the talent pool was made up of seniors: quarterback Landon Galloway and offensive weapon Hassan Bailey are both bound to play ball at Division I colleges next year, and Galloway could often count on targets Rayquan Johnson and Jacob Studstill when needed. The O-line, sometimes anchored by Montel McBride, functioned well enough as a unit to give Galloway and the running backs breathing room.
But the defense was the heart and soul of this team, and McBride, sacks leader John Broome and the versatile Sedrick King helped anchor the best front seven in the district. Defensive back Jyquis Thomas, who also has some pass rush skills, anchored the secondary.
These seniors helped lead the team to an 8-2 record in the regular season, rattling off wins like the 40-0 upset over Bloomingdale and the 41-14 beatdown of then-district leader Strawberry Crest. It was the best record that the Raiders had posted since 1996 and, although the team didn’t win the three-way district playoff, they came just shy of upsetting Sickles in the first round of the playoffs.
Although they’re losing a lot of seniors, there’s still good depth among the youngsters. Sawyer Dawson looks to be next in line to anchor the defense, and he’ll be backed by a couple of great athletes in T.J. Chase and Markese Hargrove.