Plant High Football Wins Wild One Over East Lake for Regional Title

It was not a night for the faint-hearted.

The Tampa Plant High football pulled out an improbable 28-21 overtime victory over host East Lake on Friday night to capture the Class 8A-Region 2 title.

This is how the last 8:43 of regulation went.

East Lake scored the go-ahead touchdown and extra point to take a 21-14 lead. The Panthers then drove 50 yards to the Eagles' 40 and went for it on 4th-and-9 with less than four minutes left. The pass was picked off by East Lake sophomore corner Devin Abraham, and all the Eagles have to do is run out the clock to win. Right?

Not quite.

A holding penalty and defensive three-and-out forced the Eagles to punt it back to Plant. The Panthers opened up in their hurry-up offense with time ticking under two minutes. Plant drove all the way to East Lake's 8-yard line, and on 2nd-and-goal with just 38 seconds left, senior quarterback James Few hit junior receiver Derek Mann on a slant that Mann caught and made a great dart to the end zone — only he didn't have control of the ball.

As he stumbled from about the 5 to the back of the endzone, the ball tipped up once, twice, three times, and just as Mann was hitting the ground, he pinned it to his chest. The referee signaled touchdown.

"I knew in my head I was gonna get that ball," said Mann.

The extra point sent the game into overtime, and Plant lined up in a bizarre set on its first play.

"They were overloading the strong side, and we thought it was time to go weak side, and we caught them off guard on the shift," said Plant offensive line coach Sean Love.

The Panthers lined up with senior defensive lineman Patrick Wright and senior linebacker Tate Rodgers split out as receivers. They shifted into a heavy-set run formation and Wes Bullock plowed in all the way in for the score.

East Lake then took possession, lost one yard on a run, threw one incomplete pass, then another, and on fourth-and-11 from the 21-yard line, one more.

Game over. The Panthers will host Duncan Fletcher next Friday with a chance to make it back to the state finals.

"That team was tough as heck," said Panther head coach Robert Weiner. "They were physical on every tackle, every play."

Imagine how the other 39:67 went.

East Lake had spruced up its field Friday, giving it a fine paint job and replacing all the bulbs in its stadium lights to help build an intense atmosphere as the standing-room only specatators wrapped around nearly the full circumference of the stadium.

"We don't get intimidated by anybody," said Eagles head coach Bob Hudson.

East Lake earned its 102 yards on the ground on 34 rushes, an average of three per carry. Senior Tyler Lane had just 81 yards on 23 carries but earned his two touchdowns of 11 and four yards. Senior quarterback Pete DiNovo had a career game, completeing 16 of his 25 passes for 205 yards, two touchdowns and a pick. He led a 66-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter and an 83-yard drive in the fourth quarter to put his team in front each time.

"Pete is a tremendous competitor; he wants the ball in his hands, and we had to go with what got us here," said Hudson.

The winning quarterback, Few, had what looked on paper to be a stinker of a night: 15-of-23 for 194 and three picks. However, he made the most amazing play of the game, and probably the most important.

On Plant's second posession, and on the same play, Few escaped two sack attempts where he could have easily been whistled in the grasp on either one. He not only escaped the second sack attempt but competed a pass to senior receiver Austin Aikens for a first down. Then it was Few's pass to Mann that set up the tying score to go into overtime.

Bullock's effort also can't be overlooked. He worked for 79 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner.

"If Wes hadn't got dinged up in the third (quarter), he might have had 40 carries," said Weiner. "There was no question who we were going to that first play in overtime."

As usual, the Panthers defense stood tall in the moment of need and bailed out a string of penalties and four turnovers. Senior linebacker John Holmes played well in place of injured junior Mitchell Wright. Patrick Wright and Tate Rodgers got reps in the offensive backfield, and Rodgers nearly broke a big run though a gaping hole in the defense. Only a collision with a referee slowed him down to where he could be coralled.

Weiner's evil genius showed its head again in the first quarter, following a Drew Madhu interception. Junior quarterback Aaron Banks lined up as a wide receiver and took an end around from senior athlete Antonio Crawford, who had taken a pitch from Few. Banks hauled it downfield to a wide-open sophomore Austin Roberts for the first score of the game.

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