TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Young Plant QB Needs More Than Heart Against Hawks

ADVERTISEMENT

By MARTIN FENNELLY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 4, 2008

TAMPA - Armwood football coach Sean Callahan thought back to the season-opening game. It was at Plant. Oh, sorry. It was at Plant, Plant, Plant.

"I don't think I was two steps off the bus and two Plant mothers came up to me," Callahan said. "They get right up to me they say 'You don't think we're a rival?'"

Well, the Armwood bus is about to pull into Plant again.

The two best high school football teams in Hillsborough County will renew their love affair Friday night at Dad's Stadium in the Class 4A regional final.

Armwood is 12-0. Plant is 11-1.

What else in new?

For the fourth time in four years, it's a playoff showdown.

This means that once again Sean Callahan hints that Plant isn't a real rival because, well, they've only beaten Armwood once in a great Mavre -- when Robert Marve led Plant past Armwood in the playoffs two seasons ago en route to a state title.

On the other side, there's Plant coach Robert Weiner.

"Oh, it's a rivalry," he said.

Out at Armwood, they say those Plant kids have everything, the beautiful campus, the beautiful life. At Armwood, Callahan and his Hawks love playing that up, the country vs. the city, as if they ride horses to school.

On the other hand, there is Armwood's new and luxurious new weight room and football locker room. Before the season, Plant star quarterback Aaron Murray smiled at that news -- and turned the tables.

"Does it have an espresso machine in it?" Murray said.

No, it has tradition in it.

Funny, so does Plant.

That's why this is a fun game.

You couldn't hear yourself think over the crowd noise during the season-opener at Dad's, which Armwood won 9-2 in a ESPN national TV game that went on and on, for 3 1/2 hours. No flow, no anything, fairly unwatchable. There were countless delay of game penalties.

"That entire game was a delay of game penalty," Weiner said.

Armwood remembers one other thing.

"We won," Hawks defensive back Angelo Hadley said.

Then he thought about Friday's game.

"How big is he?"

He was talking about the new Plant quarterback, sophomore Phillip Ely, who replaced Murray after he was lost for the season with a broken leg and dislocated ankle against Hillsborough.

Ely says he is 6 feet tall, though the Plant preseason roster lists him at 5-11.

Ely says he weighs 165 pounds, though his head coach says he weighs 155.

But there's no doubt about one thing. His age.

"I'm 15," Ely said.

Talk about tall orders.

He is about to face fhe third-ranked high school football team in America.

Marve, who starts for Miami, and Murray, who'll play for Georgia next season, were a combined 1-5 against Armwood. Murray never threw one touchdown in 12 quarters.

Can't you just see the Hawks defense licking its chops at the though of a 15-year-old lining up against them?

Ely is a great kid, an amazing kid.

He's an inspiration to his teammates, to a season that wouldn't quit even when Murray went down. The kid will show up tonight.

What an amazing story if Ely and Plant get this done.

"We'll be ready," Angelo Hadley said.

Armwood is always ready for Plant.

Not that it's a rivalry or anything …

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT