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Johnston column: Armwood-Plant Rivalry Still A Growing One

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Joey Johnston/The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 30, 2007

SEFFNER - One day before tonight's invasion of live television, live radio and thousands upon thousands of live ticket-buyers at Lyle Flagg Field, Armwood coach Sean Callahan pondered a question.

Plant at Armwood.

Tonight's mega-matchup in the Class 4A state quarterfinals.

Rivalry game?

"We don't talk about playing Plant," Callahan said. "We don't talk about winning the championship of Hillsborough County. We talk about winning the state championship.

"These are the two best teams in our county. But Plant has beaten Armwood, what, two times in the last 20 years? It's a good game, a competition. I don't know that I'd call it a rivalry."

A few hours later, as his Panthers warmed up at Dad's Stadium, Plant coach Robert Weiner was asked the same question. He didn't need to ponder.

Plant at Armwood.

Rivalry game?

"Definitely," Weiner said. "A natural rivalry. A rivalry of respect.

"You have to write the chapters. Along the way, the story becomes more monumental. That's how you build an epic."

And regardless of how you define a rivalry, that's what we really have here - an epic.

Round Three Of A Classic

Armwood (12-0) and Plant (11-1) don't agree on much. But getting the Hawks and Panthers together on a football field always represents a very good thing.

Here's Armwood, the state champion in 2003 and 2004, the county's top program of the millennium.

There's Plant, the defending state champion, architect of an unforgettable 15-0 run.

It's our prep football version of Red Sox-Yankees, Ali-Frazier or Coke-Pepsi. It's a rivalry, an epic, whatever you want to call it.

But you have to watch.

Armwood and Plant may operate in different worlds, but they are always watching each other, even from afar.

Last season, the first time two Hillsborough County teams matched up in a state quarterfinal, Plant defeated Armwood 38-20 in a spectacular Dad's Stadium environment, leaving the Hawks without a state-championship game appearance for the first time since 2002.

In this season's opener, Armwood's muscle flattened Plant 26-7, even after Callahan had suspended eight players in a disciplinary measure.

"Before that night, I knew we'd be seeing Plant again," Callahan said.

"You pretty much felt this was coming," Weiner said. "There's an inevitability to it. But this will be a different game."

Heck, Armwood and Plant can't even agree on that.

Let's Get Physical

Back on Aug. 31, Plant junior quarterback Aaron Murray was making his first start, following the legend of Robert Marve. He was harassed all night by Armwood's defense and didn't throw one TD pass.

He has since thrown 51 - a state record.

"We felt we were a play or two away from having an opportunity to beat Armwood on Aug. 31 and we have gotten better and better and better since that night," Weiner said.

"I don't believe any team is going to get that much better or that much worse," Callahan said. "I think we have both improved. They like to pass. We like to run.

"I know one thing that hasn't changed. We want to be physical. We want to run and control the clock. We want to keep Aaron Murray off the field and when he's on there, we want to hit him over and over."

Weiner hates the talk about Plant being a finesse team - but he knows the perception is out there. Since the day he was hired, Weiner has preached the importance of dictating a game's tempo and physicality.

"For a team like Plant, which went 15-0 to win a state title and is now 11-1, to still have our toughness questioned and still have things to prove?" Weiner said. "I mean, wow! What a driving, motivating force.

"Hardly anyone thought we'd beat Armwood last year. Nobody thinks we'll beat Armwood this time. I told our guys, 'Fellas, we may have made a lot of improvements in our program, but in the eyes of other people, we're still in the same place. We have to prove it.' Bottom line: Perceptions don't win football games."

They don't.

"It's liable to be another shootout," Weiner said.

At Armwood, supremely confident defensive end Ryne Giddins had a different view.

"I believe we're going to get a shutout."

Let the epic rivalry - uh, game - begin.

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