Plant (Tampa) coach Robert Weiner wasn't exactly thrilled with his team's penalty count and yardage, but he wasn't about to complain.
Plant's offense was hitting on all cylinders to start its drive for a third straight state championship, blasting Plant City 47-18. The Panthers (9-2) racked up 400-plus yards, and scored on offense, defense and special teams in the opening round of the Class 5A playoffs.
"When it comes to the playoffs, it's all about getting the win," Weiner said. "Plant City is a quality team and that was a hard fought game. We had a lot of small penalties and just could never get a rhythm. But we're happy with the win and happy to be moving on.''
The Panthers moved on despite 85 yards in penalties, mainly because of their offense and quarterback
Phillip Ely, who completed 20 of 37 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns. Ely threw scoring passes to
Daniel Casselli (15 yards),
Antonio Crawford (2 yards) and
Scott Greacen (27 yards).
The Panthers scored two touchdowns in every quarter except the fourth and led by as many as 34 points in the second half before two late Raider touchdowns.
Plant blocked a Plant City punt and returned if for a touchdown in the first quarter and got a 40-yard interception return for a score from
Caleb Hazley in the second quarter. Running backs
James Wilder and
Wesley Bullock combined for 160 yards and two scores. Wilder also had two sacks and an interception on defense.
Click here to view MaxPreps' Florida football playoff brackets.MORE CLASS 5A RESULTS Conner Powers ran for 206 yards and four touchdowns as
Newsome (Lithia) defeated Alonso (Tampa) 49-20.
Also,
Tampa Bay Tech held off East Lake (Tarpon Springs) 14-10,
Countryside (Clearwater) blasted Brandon 46-16, Northeast (St. Petersburg) could do little in getting rolled 35-13 by state-ranked
Manatee (Bradenton) and St. Petersburg lost to
Venice 13-10 on a last-second field goal.
CLASS 4A RESULTS Armwood (Seffner) got four touchdown runs from
Matt Jones as the Hawks opened the playoffs with a 35-3 thumping of Sickles (Tampa).
Meanwhile,
Hillsborough (Tampa) avenged a 2009 playoff loss to Largo by pounding the Packers 41-14.
Also,
Springstead (Spring Hill) defeated Wiregrass Ranch (Wesley Chapel) 40-8 and Tarpon Springs lost to
Gainesville 41-12.
CLASS 3A RESULTS Jefferson (Tampa) quarterback
Quentin Williams tied the state career touchdown pass mark with his 98th, 99th and 100th of his career in a 54-19 win against Land O' Lakes.
In other 3A games,
Pasco (Dade City) rallied from 20 points down to beat Lakewood (St. Petersburg) 27-20.
CLASS 2A & 2B In 2A,
Jesuit (Tampa) improved to 11-0 on the season with a hard-fought 24-13 win against Hardee (Wauchula). Also,
Robinson (Tampa) running back
J.J. Hubbard scored five touchdowns as the Knights blasted Immokalee 42-7.
In Class 2B,
Tampa Catholic lost 28-0 to Island Coast (Cape Coral).
CLASS A Berkeley Prep (Tampa) came from behind to top Hamilton County 29-22 while
Admiral Farragut (St. Petersburg) defeated Evangelical (Fort Myers) 51-20 for its first-ever playoff win.
THIS WEEK'S BAY AREA MATCHUPS CLASS 5A *Plant at Newsome - The defending state champion Plant Panthers must corral Newsome's powerful running game.
* Tampa Bay Tech at Countryside – Tech and undefeated Countryside played their best football down the stretch of the season.
CLASS 4A * Springstead at Gainesville – Springstead quarterback
Brian Beeker will have to duplicate his effort from last week when he ran for 155 yards and threw a touchdown pass.
* Hillsborough at Armwood – Another showdown between two Tampa-area rivals. Armwood has won seven straight against Hillsborough.
CLASS 3A * Pasco at Jefferson – A matchup of two 11-0 teams. Pasco's defense will try to match wits with Jefferson's Williams and his arsenal.
CLASS 2A * Robinson at Jesuit – District rivals meet up again in the second round of the playoffs. Jesuit slipped past Robinson 29-28 in October in one of the Bay area's best games this season.
CLASS 2BAdmiral Farragut at Victory Christian (Lakeland) – Farragut's duo of quarterback
Rayshawn Jenkins and running back
Cortavious Givens will get another shot at Victory – the only team to beat them this season.
