Several storylines in the Plant City-area prep sports scene will be worth following this year.
Plant City’s prep sports scene is never uneventful, and the 2017-18 school year looks to be no different.
From new coaches to roster updates, rebuilding projects to title defenses and turnarounds to last hurrahs, there are plenty of interesting storylines to follow for programs at Durant, Plant City and Strawberry Crest high schools. This year, heading into the start of fall sports, at least three throughout the year immediately stand out from the pack.
Strawberry Crest football: breaking the streak
Many seniors at Strawberry Crest high school haven’t seen their Chargers win a game since early in their freshman year — Sept. 19, 2014, to be exact. To say people at the school are hungry for a turnaround would be the understatement of the year.
After posting back-to-back 0-10 records, the Chargers are getting ready for year two under head coach Ron Hawn with a new look and a new hope. In the coach’s opinion, the team’s schedule presents some real opportunities to break the losing streak. As usual, the gauntlet that is 7A-District 9 will not be easy to navigate, but Crest fans hoping to see a win this season should keep a few dates in mind.
In the Aug. 25 season opener, Crest will host a Spoto team that won two games last season. Those who don’t mind going to a road game should keep an open schedule Sept. 1, when Crest travels to King for its second regular season game. Like the Chargers, the Lions also recorded a winless season in 2016. The last two games of Crest’s season, a pair of home games on Oct. 27 and Nov. 3, also look promising: Lennard and Chamberlain combined to win seven games in 2016, with Chamberlain claiming five of them.
While the Chargers aren’t expected to contend for a district title or playoff spot, the team will have plenty of chances to show how things are turning around in Dover.
Durant girls basketball: Cougars for real
Strawberry Crest’s girls basketball program may no longer be the area’s only model for sustained success.
In four seasons under coach Constance Mitchell (neé Wharton), the Durant Cougars haven’t stopped improving. The team’s records since the 2013-14 season have each topped the one that came before it: after a 1-18 record that year, the Cougars’ next three finishes were 10-10, 16-5 and 19-4. If Durant stays on that trend, the team may be headed past the regional quarterfinals in February 2018.
Though the team lost leading rebounder Tamara Hanson and starting guard Ally Louden to graduation, top scorer Ashlyn Myers will be back to lead the team in her senior season. Now that the team has its blueprint for success, expectations are high — especially for the district matchups with Crest, which handed the Cougars two of their four losses in a sweep last season.
Winning another district title won’t be easy, but Durant appears equipped to pull it off.
Plant City softball: one goal in mind
There hasn’t been a season in Plant City softball’s history quite like the Spring 2017 campaign, which ended with a trip to the state final four in Vero Beach. Now, for the Raiders, it’s just a matter of getting there again.
Less than 30 minutes after taking a 6-1 loss to Wellington in the state semifinal, head coach Ashley Bullion spoke about knowing what to do to get back there in 2018. With only three graduations and many key players returning, including ace pitcher Ashley Blessin and reliable hitters and fielders in Lexi Moore and Beka Schulte, there’s a good chance Plant City will get back to the postseason and make a run.
It will be difficult, though, to replace the production of Edmilly Molina. Molina, now at Palm Beach Atlantic University, batted .486 with 28 RBI and 12 doubles in her senior campaign and further established herself as one of the best softball players in Hillsborough County.
With or without Molina’s numbers, Plant City is still expected to perform well in a district it swept in the spring.
