East Lake Eagles (6-4) at Plant City Raiders (9-1)
Head Coaches:
East Lake – Bob Hudson (13th season at East Lake, 97-45 record)
Plant City – Greg Meyer (1st season at Plant City, 9-1 record)
Last Meeting:
None
All-time series:
First meeting between the two schools
What’s at stake:
It’s win-or-go-home in November. The winner of this game takes on the winner of Tampa Bay Tech at Countryside.
How they got here:
East Lake – defeated St. Petersburg and Pinellas Park in a tiebreaker to represent 7A-10 as the runners-up.
Plant City – 7A-9 Champions with an undefeated record in-district.
Players to watch: East Lake
QB – Bobby Goldinak
RB – Xavier Jackson
RB/FS – Tupac Blanch
MLB/OLB – Jake Hansen
OG/OT – Julian Santos
Players to watch: Plant City
QB – Corey King
WR – Antoine Thompson
WR – TJ Chase
RB – Markese Hargove
LB – Steven Ogletree
LB – Cory Cotnoir
The quick slant:
-Plant City’s never faced a Pinellas County team in the playoffs.
-This is Plant City’s seventh trip to the postseason since 2000.
-The Raiders are trying to reach the second round of the playoffs for the first time in sixteen years.
-This is East Lake’s 13th trip to the postseason since 2000 and their seventh consecutive appearance in the playoffs.
-PCHS’ linebackers Cory Cotnoir and Steven Ogletree have combined for 229 tackles this season.
East Lake wins IF:
They come out with the same fire and start that they possessed in the tiebreaker–and keep that fire going for four quarters. This game’s all about execution, physical attrition, and limiting the turnovers to precisely zero. A win-is-a-win regardless of it’s 3-0 or 33-30, but either way–it’s about playing smart football and making the plays when you need them. The Eagles cannot allow the Raiders to setup shop on offense and just grind out the win. Their defense cannot be on the field the entire evening.
Plant City wins IF:
They get Corey King in a rhythm from under center to his wideouts–then allow Markese Hargrove to eat yardage up. There’s no secret formula for PC–it’s straight in-your-face football with some highlights in-between. If the tandem of Ogletree and Cotnoir start living in East Lake’s backfield, it will be an easy night for the Raiders.