My favorite thing to hear when the Plant City Times & Observer staff has its weekly meeting is, “Justin, go cover football.”
It’s not quite June yet, and I had been itching to get back onto the football sidelines with my camera and iPhone in hand for quite some time. Really, because Plant City’s playoff exit at Sickles meant that no one in the area had any games left to play.
So, Durant hosting last Thursday’s Spring Jamboree was just what I needed. I kept a running diary of the action on my phone, as usual, but also made some other notes to share with those of you who weren’t able to make it out to the Cougars’ field that evening.
I counted at least seven scouts in attendance, representing six schools (it looked like Southeastern University brought two). Predictably, most of them were there for the Plant City-Armwood tilt in the first half. But a few did stick around for Strawberry Crest-Durant, and I’d say they were rewarded with the more exciting game.
Although many of Plant City’s biggest names dressed, including T.J. Chase and Sawyer Dawson, new transfer Austin Carswell did not. Instead, soon-to-be-sophomore Cory King (who is huge for a freshman) suited up and played quarterback for the entire game. If I had to guess, I’d say that that was the reason why the Raiders sought to run a more conservative offense — trying to make the short game work instead of stretching the field with speedsters like Chase and Markese Hargrove.
As Armwood is wont to do, its defense took away just about every chance Plant City had to make a play. On offense, though, the line did look a little shaky at times (which at least five Raiders standing behind me expressed out loud), and that set up Plant City’s only real chance to score. Defensive pressure forced their quarterback to make a bad throw, which landed perfectly into Dawson’s hands and set up a big interception return.
On second thought, that O-line will probably be back to normal by August.
I only noticed two players who weren’t dressed for Crest and Durant’s game: OL Kensey Davis, a new Durant transfer, and Chargers quarterback Tristan Hyde, who is coming off of an ACL injury suffered last season. In Crest’s case, wideout Clay Cullins took Hyde’s place this time.
For a wideout playing way out of position, Cullins wasn’t too shabby — he did what he had to do to keep the Chargers in the game and ended up leaving the field with a win under his belt. I don’t think that Cullins’ position change will be permanent, though.
Durant coach Mike Gottman recently told me the Cougar backs would be a big part of the offense, and it showed last week. Led by Chris Atkins, Durant pounded the rock for much of the night and went through whatever holes the Chargers’ defensive line would give. It was just a missed field goal early on that saved Crest from having to score a touchdown to win.
The Cougars’ defense gave Crest fits for much of the night, successfully putting pressure on Cullins and picking up a few sacks and hits. The unit even got things started early with a sack from Joe Williamson (arguably one of the area’s most underrated prospects).
Talk about a confidence-booster for Crest, though. They’re now the youngest team in the area by a long shot, with many of the players coming up fresh from junior varsity — with no prior varsity experience. A win over a team like Durant, which didn’t lose nearly as many seniors as it did in 2013, must have had those kids feeling good.
Again, it’s still May. Many of the areas that fans of these teams were worried about will likely change by August. It’s just fun to be able to catch an early glimpse of the young guys in action, to see what they can possibly bring to the table.
I can’t wait for August.