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Wake-Up Call: Plant, Robinson renew South Tampa rivalry tonight

Staff file photo (2005)

The Plant-Robinson rivalry faded over the past few years, but the two South Tampa schools get together again tonight.

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By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 13, 2009

The Wake-Up Call greets you each weekday with news, views and a few Tampa Bay area sports offerings to anticipate for the day and night. We encourage suggestions and contributions.

Good morning!

When the Hillsborough County high school football schedule was being finalized last year, administrators posed a question to Robinson coach Mike DePue.

Do you want to pull out of the game with Plant?

DePue's answer?

"Absolutely not!"

Robinson (8-1) expects to provide a similarly feisty spirit for tonight's game against the Plant Panthers (7-1) at Dads Stadium.

The South Tampa rivalry has slipped into irrelevance in recent seasons - Plant won the past four meetings, including the last two by a combined 98-0 score, hiking its series lead to 26-22-2 - but there's evidence the Knights could be properly prepared for tonight's formidable task.

"We know the story; they're Plant, we're S.O.G. [South of Gandy]," Robinson junior quarterback Blake Rice said. "We haven't had much success against Plant lately.

"But the atmosphere this week, it's different. It's real serious. We know - and they know - that we're for real. Their fans can talk about blowouts all they want. We can get them this time. Robinson football is back."

The Class 2A Knights won their first district title since 1977 and will host Arcadia DeSoto in next week's first-round playoff game.

Meanwhile, the Class 5A Panthers won their fourth consecutive district title and will host Plant City in the playoffs.

First things first.

"We have a saying here: 'Respect all, fear none,' " Plant coach Robert Weiner said. "We have a lot of respect for Robinson and what they have done this season. They have some very active skill players. It's the kind of game where, if it stays within a score or two, both teams have players who can change that very quickly.

"It's a rivalry. It's South Tampa tradition. It's fun. I've always thought one of Robinson's strengths is to play with a chip on the shoulder. They have that 'us against the world' mentality. That plays very well in a football setting, and I'm sure they'll be bringing that to the field against us."

As always.

The late Tom Mahin, a member of Robinson's original staff and the school's head coach for nine seasons, used to enliven Knights pep rallies with the tale of how Robinson's student body was plucked from Plant's enrollment in 1959.

"They sent all the kids Plant didn't want down here," said Mahin, his voice cracking with emotion. "But they didn't know what kind of heart those kids had. That heart laid the foundation."

In the first meeting, first-year school Robinson upset Plant (coming off a 10-0 season) 12-7 - and a rivalry was born.

Last month, Robinson held its 50th anniversary celebration and welcomed back about 400 alumni to campus. The current Knights watched as the head cheerleader and football players from the inaugural team spoke eloquently.

"They talked about how they were carved out of Plant, but once they hit Robinson, they were Knights," DePue said. "You could just feel the emotion and the passion of those people. Our guys got a real sense of history."

They already were eager to bury the recent history - the drubbings at the hands of Plant, plus the records of 1-9 and 2-8.

"You don't have to hide your face any more," Robinson receiver/defensive back Frankie Williams said. "You can walk around like a big man on campus. This has been a really great season.

"We're much more of a mature team. We have a better idea of what we can do. Now here we are, playing Plant again. It has been one of my goals to beat them. We've had to live with losing to them [42-0] last year. I know that made me work harder in the offseason. I think we're going to be flying around the ball. We're ready."

And more than ready to prove that Robinson football should be taken seriously.

"We do have a chip on our shoulder," Rice said. "All we hear is, 'Oh, they're 2A and they can't play with a 5A team.'

"We're in the playoffs and that's great for our program. But we're not resting for the playoffs. We want this game. We're going in there to beat them."

Garcia faces the Gators

University of South Carolina sophomore quarterback Stephen Garcia (Jefferson) is on a personal role with three consecutive 300-yard passing games.

• Oct. 24: Vanderbilt (14-10 win), 22-for-33, 312 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions.

• Oct. 31: At Tennessee (31-13 loss), 25-for-50, 300 yards, one touchdown, one interception.

• Nov. 7: At Arkansas (33-16 loss), 20-for-34, 327 yards, one touchdown, one interception.

For the season, Garcia has completed 57.5 percent of his passes (196-for-341) for 2,421 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Saturday, Garcia and the Gamecocks face the top-ranked University of Florida Gators. Last season, in Florida's 56-6 victory, Garcia was 6-for-13 for 28 yards. He threw one interception and was sacked three times.

"He was a lost Gamecock down in the Swamp last year," South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said.

Another big game for Speights

Philadelphia 76ers second-year center Marreese Speights (Admiral Farragut), the former University of Florida player, continues to thrive in the early NBA season.

Wednesday night, Speights converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 1:10 remaining and the 76ers hung on for an 82-79 win against the New Jersey Nets.

Speights, who came off the bench and played 30 minutes, finished with 19 points and nine rebounds. He was 8-for-15 from the field.

State's top recruit will wait

The early signing period is under way for basketball, but the state's top player, Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest guard Brandon Knight (6-foot-3, 185 pounds), will apparently wait until the spring to choose his school.

Knight is considering Florida, Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky and Miami.

For what it's worth, Knight is a close friend and former AAU teammate of Kenny Boynton, a freshman guard for the Gators.

O.J. Murdock earns honor

Well-traveled wide receiver O.J. Murdock (Middleton) - he signed out of high school with South Carolina, transferred to junior college, committed to Marshall, then opted for Division II - has taken a turn for the better.

Murdock, now at Fort Hays State University, on the plains of western Kansas, was named second-team receiver on the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association all-star team. Murdock had 35 receptions for 697 yards and a team-best eight receiving touchdowns. His 19.9-yard average led the MIAA. His receiving yardage was the most at his school since 2001.

Beck named to second team

University of North Alabama quarterback Harrison Beck (Countryside) was named second team All-Gulf South Conference.

Beck completed 58.4 percent of his passes (244-for-418) for 3,201 yards, 27 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

UNA (10-1) has a first-round bye in the NCAA Division II playoffs and will face the winner of Arkansas Tech-North Carolina (Pembroke) on Nov. 21.

Clemson, Thomas begin tonight

Clemson University junior women's basketball player Sthefany Thomas (Wesley Chapel) has her season-opener tonight against Furman University. Last season, Thomas averaged 8.1 points and 2.6 rebounds for the Tigers.

Sports Illustrated features Bucs

This week's edition of Sports Illustrated has a story about the Bucs - "The Bucs Start Here" - with Damon Hack's report on Tampa Bay's initial victory, Sunday's 38-28 win against the Green Bay Packers.

In that article, Bucs general manager Mark Dominik reiterates the team's rebuilding philosophy, based around the selection of first-round quarterback Josh Freeman.

"I felt like from 1999 to 2003, we could have won a championship every year," Dominik told SI. "In that window we did it with [quarterback] Trent Dilfer, we did it with Shaun King, and we did it with Brad Johnson. We want to be one of those teams that does it with one quarterback and has continued success with one quarterback."

On the team's recent draft selections, Dominik said, "As a general manager, you want to hit 100 percent, but you just don't. Do I see [the next] Warren Sapp on our team yet? No, I'm afraid not."

Bucs crack the lineup

ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas unveiled his midseason All-NFC South team this week. It was chock full of Saints and Falcons, another with a few Panthers - and just one member of the Bucs, return man Clifton Smith.

Sounds about right.

Birthday wishes

Happy birthday to former Bucs offensive tackle Rob Taylor, who played eight seasons (1986-93) and started 91 games for Tampa Bay. Saturday, Taylor turns 49.

The Answer Man

Here's the answer to Thursday's trivia question:

Tampa Catholic last defeated Jesuit in football on Nov. 12, 1999. TC quarterback Matt Glavich threw four touchdown passes in the 26-7 victory against the Tigers.

Friday trivia

Here's our daily sports trivia question, featuring a Tampa Bay/Florida spin. Try your luck by commenting below.

Robinson has not beaten Plant in football since Nov. 5, 2004. Who were the starting quarterbacks for that game, a 19-10 victory by Robinson?

Check for the answer in Monday's Wake-Up Call.

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