For the Plant, the Big Easy proved to be just a Little Hard. In the nightcap of the Allstate Sugar Bowl Prep Classic double-header, nationally-ranked and 24-time state champion John Curtis Christian defeated the visiting Panthers by a final score of 33 – 3. The troubles for Plant actually began two days earlier when starting left tackle, and FSU verbal commit Richy Klepal, suffered a low grade concussion towards the end of Wednesday’s practice. Klepal traveled with the team, but did not play. Klepal’s absence was noticeable in Plant’s opening drive of the game, which went nowhere. A short Panther punt was returned 38 yards down to the Plant 3 yard line, setting up a Patriot touchdown on their first offensive play from scrimmage.
Plant’s second possession went only slightly better. On third down, senior quarterback picked up 9 yards on a quarterback draw, but needed 10 for the first down. Tripp Lawson boomed a 60-yard punt and it appeared that things were settling down for visitors from Tampa. However, John Curtis marched methodically down the field, aided by a couple of penalty calls, and scored again to go up 14 – 0 with 3:31 remaining in the first quarter.
Down two scores, the Plant offense looked as if were getting on track when Wesley Bullock combined a rush and a pass catch for a first down near Patriot territory. However, sophomore running back Patrick Brooks coughed up the ball and gave John Curtis yet another short field. John Curtis’ running game was back on center stage as the Patriots closed out the first quarter by rushing for 8 yards on four out of five plays. The Patriots opened up the second quarter with a 5-yard touchdown run by running back James Raekwon to go up 21 – 0.
The Patriots added injury to insult on the ensuing kickoff when they knocked Plant running back Wesley Bullock out of the game with a lower leg injury. From there, all of Plant’s positive gains were negated by penalties and once again the Panthers were forced to punt.
John Curtis took over possession at Plant’s 44 yard line and it looked like Plant’s defense was starting to figure out the Patriot’s vaunted veer running game. Quinn Metoyer, Zach Seaberg and Mitchell Wright came up with tackles after little or no gain, bringing up, perhaps, the pivotal play of the game. Facing 4th and 6 from the Plant 40, John Curtis brought the punt team out onto the field. However, the punter never touched the ball. Instead, the snap was lateraled back to the Patriot’s Sherman Badie who ran down the right sideline for a 40-yard, dagger-in-the-heart touchdown run and, after the missed extra point, a 27 – 0 lead.
Plant put together its best drive of the night on the ensuing possession. Starting at its own 15, Patrick Brooks, Tommy Rhee and Paris Bostick took turns picking up positive yardage on the ground and Banks connected through the air with junior Cam Winter, twice, and sophomore Clark Miller to keep drives alive. But the first half clock ran down, forcing the Panthers to settle for a 37-yard field goal from senior William Few. Banks finished the first half 8 of 11 for 51 yards, but John Curtis took advantage of its short fields and 130 yards rushing to go into the locker rooms with a comfortable 27 – 3 lead. Plant was also hurt by the seemingly inequitable penalty calls – 8 flags against the Panthers, costing them 59 yards, while the hometown Patriots were not flagged a single time.
The second half got a little better for Plant’s offense, and the defense settled in nicely holding the Patriots scoreless in the second half. The Patriots scored the only points of the second half on a punt return, resulting in a 33 – 3 final score. The Panther offense was able to move the ball, but was not able to find the end zone. Junior Colby Brown replaced injured starter Aaron Banks in the third quarter and, like Banks, found Cam Winter over the middle a couple of times for positive yards. The game also got a little chippy in the second half, with most calls going the way of the Patriots.
The Panthers look to get back on track (and injured starters back on the field) when they host Jefferson this week.
-Rob Barnes