TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

County Powers Set For Showdown

ADVERTISEMENT

By ADAM ADKINS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 25, 2007

Updated: 11/25/2007 12:14 am

Sean Callahan is far from Nostradamus, but you can give the Armwood High football coach credit for one correct prediction this season.

As big a victory as it was for his team in the regular-season opener against defending Class 4A state champion Plant, Callahan stood on Lyle Flagg Field and proclaimed his Hawks would have to get past the Panthers again in the playoffs to have a shot at a state title.

Turns out he was right.

Armwood will host Plant in a highly anticipated rematch of Hillsborough County's Class 4A juggernauts on Friday, a night that also will feature two other big games for county teams - Tampa Catholic traveling to Miami Archbishop Carroll for a Class 2A state semifinal, and Chamberlain hosting a Class 5A regional final against Kissimmee Osceola, which bounced three-time defending state champion Lakeland from the playoffs.

The Panthers-Hawks clash is the third meeting between the teams in a little more than one calendar year and the second time in two seasons they've met for the right to advance to the state semifinals.

"It's a very exciting thing," Plant coach Robert Weiner said. "It's exciting to be in the region finals and still playing when it's down to eight teams in Class 4A left in the state, but it's even more so because it's against Armwood."

The outcome of the first meeting between the teams this season - a 26-7 Hawks win on Aug. 31 - seems to be a distant memory, at least for Callahan and Weiner. Neither coach seems to want to put much stock into what happened in Week 1, and each knows the other team is much better - and much different - than what was displayed last time.

"We're significantly better. We were significantly better in Week 2 after we played them," Weiner said. "It's kind of been our MO since I've been here. We're a much different football team at the end of the season than we are in the beginning.

"But Armwood is also much better than when we played them."

Callahan agrees, and he has good reason. He suspended eight players - five starters - for the season opener after the group was caught skipping a morning class the week of the game. In fact, Armwood played at full strength for the first time this season in Friday's region semifinal win against Hillsborough, and the Hawks in turn displayed their most dominating effort.

But Callahan knows the Panthers, under the direction of record-setting junior quarterback Aaron Murray, who made his first career start in the Week 1 loss, are a different kind of animal now. As convincing as the Hawks' Week 1 win over Plant was at the time, Callahan knows winning the rematch won't be easy.

"We've got our work cut out for us," Callahan said. "We really do."

Reporter Adam Adkins can

be reached at (813) 657-4533

or aadkins@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT