Sports
Plant Outlasts Bergen Catholic
The Panthers' great defensive effort stopped the Crusaders in the final seconds to ice the game.
BRADENTON — After watching the Manatee Hurricanes lose a close game to No. 1 nationally ranked Don Bosco Prep, Tampa Plant needed to win one for Florida in Suncoast Challenge doubleheader that pitted two New Jersey teams against two from the Sunshine State.
The Panthers defense rose to the challenge, holding Bergen Catholic to just seven points on the back of great individual efforts from senior , junior Mitchell Wright and senior Mike Tate in a 12-7 win Friday night at Manatee's Hawkins Stadium.
The Panthers took the opening drive down to the Crusader 10-yard line on some great runs and receptions by junior Dereck Mann. Only a defended pass from Bergen Catholic’s Charles Wingate stalled the drive and forced a Grant Van Aman field goal to make it 3-0 Panthers with 7:06 left in the first quarter.
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The Crusaders came right back with a scoring drive of their own when running back Michael Gerst found a gaping hole in the Panther defense and broke it for a 53-yard touchdown and a 7-3 Crusaders lead at the 6:15 mark in the first quarter.
The defenses traded body blows all night.
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On Plant’s next possession, Wingate picked off an under thrown ball from senior James Few to senior . On Bergen Catholic’s ensuing possession, Crawford picked off Jonathan Germano pass, using the sideline to get underneath the receiver.
Plant drove the ball down to the 10 but came up short on a fourth-down pass to senior Danny Caselli. The two defenses went into a flurry and forced three straight turnovers. The first was a fumble recovery from Mitchell Wright.
“I didn’t even realize it was a fumble at first, then my reaction was to just jump on it,” Wright said.
When Bergen Catholic’s James Dawson fumbled on his way out of bounds, the ball landed inches from the sideline and just stayed there, thankfully, Wright jumped on it.
Panther senior James Few threw the next pass to Kyle Quiero, but on the very next play, Mitchell Wright broke through the line and sacked Germano, forcing a fumble that the Panthers recovered.
This set up Plant’s lone touchdown on a Crawford run behind right guard from about 12 yards out. The extra-point attempt was no good.
Bergen Catholic tried to get a drive going toward the end of the half, but the swarming Panther defense behind great efforts from senior Michael Dvornik, juniors Terrence Jenkins, and Eliel Shines shut them down; 9-7 Panthers at halftime.
Neither team could get their offenses going in the second half in the face of stout defensive play from both sides.
Crawford made another huge play in a pressure spot as Bergen Catholic went for a 4th-and-5 from the Plant 35-yard line, Crawford cut the runner down just shy of the marker and extinguished a viable scoring opportunity for the Crusaders.
Another great Panther defensive play by senior Keenan Stalls broke up a deep pass to the Crusaders' Justin Kulcsar. Junior Reeves Rodgers followed that up with a huge hit on the running back that was ruled an incomplete pass and would have been another Panther turnover.
The Crusader defense again picked off another James Few pass intended for Aikens, but Crawford got it right back for the Panthers.
Plant finally got in field goal range with 1:27 left in the game. This time, senior holder Trey Holtz reeled in the high snap and stuck it in the ground for Van Aman who put it through the uprights. 12-7 Plant, going into the last minute.
Junior Wade Snyder made a great stop on the ensuing kickoff, and the Panther defense took over the game.
The Crusaders ran a hurry-up offense and reached the Panther 20-yard line, but two pass defenses by Crawford and a great convergence of Shines and junior Zach Seaberg stopped Bergen Catholic as time ran out.
“Just remember, defense wins championships,” said defensive coordinator John Few as the Panthers rushed the field.
“It’s nice to play a great team like that and get the win,” said head coach Rob Weiner. “We were persistent, made play after play and battled through tough situations.”
Crawford had another monster game for the Panthers, running for about 80 yards on a dozen or so carries and the game’s only touchdown. More important was Crawford’s timely tackles, pass break-ups and two big interceptions.
“I try to make those big plays with consistency,” said Crawford. “I do whatever I can to help the team win.”
James Few overcame three interceptions to go 13-for-25 for 164 yards and is looking more like a bona fide starting quarterback every game.
The Panthers were flagged constantly in the game, however, something they will have to tighten up if they want to keep their winning streak going.
“It’s something we’ll keep working on in practice,” said Weiner. “Unfortunately, it’s not something that happens overnight; we just have to improve week-to-week.”
The Panthers move to 3-0 in the regular season and have a much-needed week off.
Don Bosco Prep beat Manatee High 22-16 in the doubleheader's opener.
