I’m kind of bummed that there’s no more high school football on Friday nights, but I’d say 2018 was a pretty good time for neutral observers like me.
I got to see all three of our teams win games and was on the sideline for a few really thrilling matchups, especially the awesome Oct. 26 Tampa Bay Tech-Plant City game. There were upsets pulled off and expectations exceeded and big plays for days.
What did we learn from this season?
DURANT
Going into August, everyone knew the Cougars were about to begin a rebuilding phase. That’s what happens when you graduate a ton of seniors, especially with a class where many of them played key roles on offense and defense.
The Cougars did show some flashes of potential throughout the year and looked good in their three wins against East Bay, Strawberry Crest and Lennard. Free safety C.J. Barnes finished his junior season with a whopping 107 total tackles. Tyrhon Brooks and David Haynes looked like they could make a good one-two punch for the Cougars in 2019 with some more experience between them and the offensive line. Sophomore linebacker Edward Zanato was another bright spot for the defense and could really help the team in the next two seasons.
Now that the first year of the rebuild is in the books and many of the key starters are not graduating just yet, the Cougars can focus on taking another step forward and staying positive.
PLANT CITY
Nevermind that the Raiders’ playoff run came to an end with just one game. They just had a great season and gave fans reason to stay optimistic.
The district champs morphed into one of the most efficient offensive machines in Hillsborough County, racking up 236.5 passing yards per game and 26 touchdowns from the arm of senior leader Braxton Plunk. Mario Williams styled himself as one of the deadliest weapons of any team in the county (if not the state) and Zamir’ Knighten turned in a 1,000-yard season with nine touchdowns and plenty of first-down conversions whenever the team needed them. The senior-led defense also played well across the board, highlighted by D.J. Gordon’s 126-tackle, eight-sack season.
The Raiders are about to graduate a lot of key performers and it’s not immediately clear who will take over, especially at quarterback, but there’s plenty of talent in the pipeline and head coach James Booth has proven to be an effective enough leader and teacher to make things work sooner than later. No team’s offseason will be more intriguing.
STRAWBERRY CREST
The Chargers took a step back in 2018 as far as overall records are concerned (one fewer win and no district victories this time around), but it’s also true that looking at the win-loss column doesn’t always tell the whole story for teams.
Led by seniors Cody Newman, Josh Young, Riley Garrison and Adam Ibarra, the unit was able to either help Crest win or stay competitive throughout the season and keep quarterbacks in check. Quarterback Makenzie Kennedy led the team in rushing and even went for 107 yards on the ground against his former team, Durant, in September. Like the Cougars, the Chargers are also a very young team and will not have anything close to a large graduating senior class.
Though nearly all of the team’s top performers from 2018 are set to graduate in the spring, a year’s worth of experience in Hillsborough County’s toughest district should help this young team for next season.