Sports
Plant Panthers Shred Senators 26-7 to Advance to State Football Finals
Plant High got past Duncan Fletcher to advance to its fourth straight state final.
It was a death by a thousand cuts.
The Plant High football dominated the Class 8A state semifinal against Duncan Fletcher on Friday night, rolling to a 26-7 win and earning a trip to Orlando to play for the state title.
The host Panthers (13-1) stacked up three field goals to go into the half up 9-0. They came out in the second half and ratcheted up the slicing even more, scoring two touchdowns and another field goal. The lone Fletcher touchdown came in meaningless time in the fourth quarter.
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"It was kind of like a slow death," said Panthers head coach Robert Weiner. "It was like we injected them with poison and it took two-and-a-half hours to take its full effect."
With the win, the Panthers move on to the Class 8A state finals, where they'll face Miramar (13-0) next Saturday night.
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After going three-and-out on their first drive, the Panthers got on the board first, posting a field goal from senior kicker Grant Van Aman to go up 3-0. Senior Michael Dvornik and junior Eliel Shines were virtually unblockable from the defensive end spots. On Fletcher's second drive, a Dvornik pressure pushed Senators junior quarterback Evan Orth into the grasp of Shines, who knocked the ball out, and senior linebacker Tate Rodgers recovered.
Plant senior quarterback James Few found some serendipitous time to throw in the pocket and proceeded to dissect the Fletcher defense.
"Their DBs were playing so far off, we had to take some of the underneath stuff," said Few.
Few orchestrated a nice drive on Plant's third possession, completing four passes to senior receiver Daniel Casselli. The drive resulted in another field goal.
Fletcher answered and drove down to the Panthers' 16-yard line, when what seemed to be a touchdown pass from Orth to junior Kalib Woods was ripped out of Woods' hands by senior defensive back Keenan Stalls. The Senators lined up for a field goal of their own, but it was blocked and recovered at the other 30-yard line.
The Panthers had to settle for a 45-yard field goal attempt by Van Aman.
"I thought I missed it at first but then I saw the ref put up his hands," said Van Aman.
The kick fluttered coming off his foot and didn't look like it had a chance, but it carried, glanced the upright and fell just behind the crossbar.
Junior running back Wes Bullock broke a 46-yard run to start the third quarter. That set up yet another 45-yard Van Aman field goal to make it 12-0. That's when the Panthers defense slammed the door in Fletcher's face. Senior athlete Antonio Crawford picked off an Orth pass and nearly took it to the house. He was stopped at the 1-yard line.
From there, senior linebacker Mike Tate got the call and took it in for the touchdown.
"I wasn't sure if we were gonna call that play or not, the whole defense was tired after that long return," said Weiner. "I looked Mike in the eye and asked him if he was ready and he gave me that Mike Tate smile, so I knew he was."
Tate was amped after the touchdown run. So much so that when Fletcher got the ball back, he creamed Orth and forced another fumble. But the Senators recovered and were given new life after a personal foul on Plant during an ensuing punt. Two plays later, the Panthers took it back again, forcing senior running back Garrett Myrick to cough it up.
The Panthers went into the fourth quarter up 19-0.
They only clamped down tighter.
Even screen passes in the face of blitzes and a searing pass rush accomplished next to nothing for Fletcher. The Senators were moving the ball — they only had a couple three-and-outs in the game and put together more than 300 yards of offense — but they could not close when the Panther defense got backed up.
Plant's fourth drive of the half put the game away.
Few made a great play on 3rd-and-8, completing a jump-pass to senior Chase Mighell in the face of a blitz to keep the drive alive. Then Bullock delivered the knockout blow by cracking a 26-yard touchdown run that all but sealed the game.
"I give the credit to the O-line and receivers," said Bullock. "Without them making those blocks, that touchdown doesn't happen."
The Panthers went up 26-0, and Fletcher fans started to file out of the stadium.
To their credit, the Senators never completely caved in. Their only touchdown drive culminated in a catch from junior receiver Clay Bridge in the final minutes.
"A shutout would have meant so much, the way our defense has played all year," said Tate.
Nevertheless, the Panthers defense proved its mettle once again and helped the program reach its fourth consecutive state final.
Few did not have sparkling numbers, nor did he throw a touchdown pass. However, his gutsy, improvisational play, kept the Panthers offense on the field. Three of his 13 completions were critical third-down conversions.
And it seems as though Few almost cannot be sacked. At least that's what senior defensive lineman Alan Richards thought. Richards thought he had Few sacked in the first half, but the whistle never blew and Few scrambled away for a positive gain. Junior defensive lineman Tyrone Quarterman finally proved that it was indeed possible to sack Few as he brought the quarterback down later in that drive.
Bullock finished with more than 130 yards on the ground, not including an incredible 22-yard touchdown run that was called back for holding. The 5-foot-6, 150-pound (soaking wet and carrying an extra pair of cleats with rocks in them) Bullock steamrolled a Fletcher defender on the play.
"This particular team has something special," said Weiner. "Nobody cares about their individual stats, they only care what that scoreboard says at the end of the game."
