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Plant beats Armwood

By ADAM ADKINS

aadkins@tampatrib.com

Published: October 3, 2009

SEFFNER - As the saying goes, all good things eventually come to an end. The problem for Armwood is that Plant seems to have ended a lot of the Hawks' good things the last few years.

The latest came Friday night, when the Panthers marched into Lyle Flagg Field and dealt the Hawks a 17-7 loss. This Plant victory was no small feat, either.

Armwood had been downright dominant at home, having won 43 consecutive games on the field dating to the 2002 state playoffs. Plant was on the losing end of four of those games. But just as the Panthers did when people doubted them in playoff matchups against the Hawks in 2006 and 2008 - when they ended Armwood's hopes of winning a state title and went on to win the Class 4A state championship each time - they produced one of their best showings.

"I think we love being in that position, in a spot where it seems like it's just us against the world," Panthers coach Robert Weiner said. "We love that spot, and my team just responds to that."

The Hawks (3-1) probably should have known they were in trouble Friday when they walked into the locker room at halftime trailing 7-0. Armwood dominated the first half on both sides of the ball, but couldn't produce the big play at the crucial moment. Twice the Hawks marched into the red zone but came away empty, including once when they were stopped on a fourth-and-goal from a half-yard out.

"We had our chances," Armwood coach Sean Callahan said. "We had our opportunities, and that's the mark of a young team that doesn't know how to finish."

The Hawks watched Plant's T.J. Glover take a reverse and race 65 yards for a touchdown with 55 seconds left before the break. Prior to Glover's run, the Panthers (3-1) offense had mustered 9 yards of total offense.

"They played so great defensively and we played so poorly offensively in the first half, that coming out of that 7-0, man, we felt like it was Christmas," Weiner said.

Glover provided another big play early in the second half when he hauled in a 37-yard pass from quarterback Phillip Ely, and running back James Wilder produced a 22-yard touchdown run on the next play to put Plant ahead 14-0 with 8:14 left in the third quarter. From there, the Panthers defense took control.

Plant allowed 193 yards in the first half but limited the Hawks to just 36 in the second half, including just one first down. Plant managed to keep Armwood's high-powered offense from producing any points. The Hawks' lone score came when a bad snap on a punt attempt was scooped and returned for a touchdown by Armwood's Eric Striker, who started in place of suspended senior Alton Bailey.

"I think the reason why we won was because of the defense," Ely said. "It was all defense."