Plant Football Dismantles Robinson 51-9

It looked like the southside rivalry could be a close one, when the Plant High football team might look past upstart and red-hot Robinson after locking up the district weeks ago and blowing the doors off of Bloomingdale 53-7 just last week.

It might be a time when a coach would rest his starters and play a vanilla-style game.

None of that happened Thursday night as Plant beat Robinson, 51-9.

"We game plan the same way every week, regardles of who we're playing," said Panthers head coach Robert Weiner. "When you play tentative, bad things tend to happen."

Bad things started for Robinson right off the bat.

The first play from scrimmage saw the snap squirt between junior quarterback Vidal Woodruff's legs and set up a three-and-out. The rest of the first quarter went: touchdown catch, punt return for a touchdown, two-point conversion, interception return for a touchdown. It was 23-0 at the end.

"In that first quarter it seemed like everything that could go wrong did," said Knights head coach Mike DePue.

It went from bad to worse when Panthers senior quarterback James Few hit senior receiver Austin Aikens for a touchdown. Robinson then fumbled, and although Knights senior defensive back Byron Pringle picked off a pass on the next series, Plant junior safety Paris Bostick picked off the next Robinson pass to set up a touchdown catch from junior receiver Dereck Mann. It was 37-0 going into halftime.

Coming out for the third quarter, DePue elected not to run the clock, and the Panthers made him pay. Junior running back Wes Bullock broke an incredible 75-yard touchdown run where he looked captured at least two different times and broke several tackles to escape.

It bordered on the absurd when a touchdown pass squirted through Panthers sophomore receiver Alex Jackson's hands and a diving effort from Aikens came up with the ball, the touchdown and the 50th point for the Panthers.

The only bright spot on the night for the Knights was a solid effort from Pringle, who had two interceptions and 80 yards of offense, and a nice catch from senior receiver Ethan Kindle, dragging his foot in bounds to set up freshman Michael Duclos' score for the lone Robinson touchdown of the night.

Both the Panthers' effort and coaching decisions were ruthless in not giving Robinson anything on offense; the Knights finished with 167 total yards. Weiner went for two two-point conversions and got them both. The Panthers also went for two onside kicks. Meanwhile, every phase of the game was clicking for Plant. The Panthers gained at least 150 yards passing, rushing and on special teams, topping out with more than 450 total yards.

Few went 8-for-11 for 112 yards and three touchdowns along with two picks. Bullock rushed for 94 yards on just six carries. Aikens had 52 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Junior receiver Derek Mann had 135 total yards and three touchdowns on the night. Bostick had two interceptions and nearly a third.

"Coach said he was gonna spread the ball around; I'm glad he did," said Mann.

Inside all the big numbers were some critical individual efforts that did not show up on the stat sheet.

When Mann took the first-quarter punt 84 yards to the house, he would have never got there without a terrific block from senior safety Drew Madhu at the 10-yard line.

When Bostick took his first-quarter interception 65 yards to pay dirt, it was made possible by a block from senior linebacker Mike Tate down the field.

"We pride ourselves on plays like that," said Weiner. "We're always stressing to those perimeter guys to work downfield on returns."

"This was an eye-opening experience for us," said DePue.

DePue must dig in and find a way to rally his team to take a road trip to Orlando for a playoff game against Bishop Moore in in eight days.

Meanwhile, the Panthers seem to have healed from . They have outscored their last two opponents 104-16 and are rolling into next Friday's Class 8A home playoff matchup against Boone.

Game summary:

1st quarter:

- Mann catches a short, crossing route and turns it upfield for a 24-yard touchdown. Extra point is good, 7-0.

- Mann strikes again with an 84-yard punt return for a touchdown. This time senior athlete Antonio Crawford gets the option and finds senior linebacker Tate Rodgers in the end zone for the two-point conversion. 15-0 Plant.

- Bostick takes an interception 65 yards for a touchdown. Junior quarterback Aaron Banks comes in and gets the two-point conversion. 23-0.

2nd quarter:

- Few hits Aikens down the sideline for a 24-yard touchdown. Extra point makes it 30-0.

- Mann strikes again with a six-yard touchdown reception. Extra point makes it 37-0.

3rd quarter:

- Bullock breaks a 76-yard touchdown run, 44-0

- Aikens catches a deflected pass for a 20-yard touchdown, 51-0.

4th quarter(running clock):

- Banks jumps on a bad snap in his own endzone, 51-2.

- Knights score on their next possession when Duclos runs one in from seven yards out.

51-9 final.

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