Like a couple of prize fighters exchanging haymakers in a 15-round bout, the Plant Panthers and the Bloomingdale Bulls threw knock-out punches at each other for three hours Friday night at Dad’s Stadium. In the end, it was Plant that stood standing, 50 – 40 victors.
Panther fans have grown accustomed to fast starts and quick points — but from Plant, not its opponents. The Bulls turned custom on its head. After winning the toss, Bloomingdale quarterback Isaiah McIntyre opened up with a short, precision passing game that would cut up the Panthers all night long. McIntyre followed up a pair of completions with a 16 yard scamper up the middle. From the Plant 34 yard line, McIntyre hit senior Cody Decker with a crossing route and Decker broke a pair of tackles to put the Bulls on the board. Lucas Jose converted the extra point and with less than two minutes gone in the game, the visitors from Bloomingdale had a 7 – 0 advantage.
Moments later, Plant’s opening drive came to a screeching halt when Colby Brown lost the handle on the ball in the process of being sacked. A Bull defender picked up the loose ball and walked 5 yards into the end zone for a 14 – 0 lead with 9:45 still remaining in the opening round, er, quarter.
Plant moved the ball effectively on its next drive before stalling close to midfield. Junior Matthew Beadle teamed up with gunner Fletcher Barnes to pin the Bulls back at their own 1 yard line. The Panther defense came alive, forcing a quick three-and-out punt, but a roughing call gave the Bulls new life — which lasted no longer than the first one. Plant took over on its own 41. A pair of passes from Brown to junior Jordan Reed and another pair from Brown to senior Cam Winter set up a 4 yard touchdown run by sophomore Tykese Keaton-Baldwin. Hunter Anderson’s PAT cut the Bull lead in half, 14-7.
The Panther defense forced another Bloomingdale punt and Plant landed a strong upper cut on its second play of the series. Brown hit fellow senior Alex Jackson with swing pass and then watched Jackson bob and weave his way downfield 70 yards to pay dirt. Anderson’s extra point attempt was blocked and the Bulls held on to a slim one point lead, 14-13.
Bloomingdale took possession on its own 20 yard line, but were quickly forced to punt. The punt was muffed and recovered by the visitors. This time, the Bulls made the best of their second life. McIntyre hit juniors Doug Sandberg (for 21 yards) and Logan Crouse (for 12 more yards) to set up a 2 yard quarterback keeper into the end zone. Jose converted the PAT and Bloomingdale had a little breathing room, 21-13.
In the waning moments of the first half, Brown lead the Panthers down field, connecting with Barnes for 20 and Reed for 8 before the drive appeared to stall. But senior lineman Richard Bush rumbled for 6 yards on a fake punt – just enough to give Plant a first down with 1:13 remaining in the half. Brown repeated the earlier process in reverse, hitting Reed for 32 yards and Barnes for 16. With the first-half clock winding down, Brown connected with Barnes again for a 5-yard touchdown pass. Brown then hit Jackson in the end zone for the 2-point conversion. At the halfway point of the bout, the judges no doubt had the two teams even on the scorecards, as the Bulls and the Panthers went into the locker room tied 21-21.
The teams exchanged body punches to start the second half, but neither team was able to connect with any scoring jabs. On its second possession of the half, an apparent 62-yard scoring pass from Brown to Reed was negated by a penalty. However, this simply gave Jackson the opportunity to add to both his rushing yards and touchdown totals, as he scored from 17 yards out. Andrew Beck’s 2-point conversion gave the Panthers their first lead of the night, 29-21.
The Panthers were looking for the mid-round TKO. On Bloomingdale’s next possession, and after McIntyre connected with Sandberg for a 32 yard catch and run, Plant senior Austin Hudson stepped in front of a McIntyre pass to intercept it. Stepping over the other side of the ball, Hudson then hauled in a 36 yard pass from Brown. The two seniors connected two plays later on a 25-yard scoring strike. Anderson’s extra point was good and Plant appeared to be taking control of the bout 36-21.
A forced punt on the Bulls next possession and a 30-plus yard return by Jackson, put the Panthers back in business as the 3rd quarter came to an end. But the fight was far from over. Plant staggered the Bulls when Brown hit Reed with an 8 yard TD pass. Jackson’s 2-point conversion gave the Panthers a 44-21 lead.
Plant senior Jackson Kilcoyne tried to deliver the knock-out blow on the ensuing possession, sacking McIntyre. But, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave the Bulls new set of downs. They made the most of the new downs a couple of plays later when McIntyre hit Sandberg with a short pass over the middle and Sandberg raced 54 yards for a score. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, but the Bulls had cut the Plant lead to 44-27.
Once again, Plant looked to knock the Bulls to the canvas. On 2nd and 25 from their own 25 yard line, Jackson raced 75 yards down the far sideline for a touchdown and a 50-27 lead with 8:25 remaining in the game. But the Bulls refused to stay down. On their next drive, McIntyre used his arm — connecting with Decker on a 36 yard catch and run — and his legs to move the ball downfield. Once in the red zone, McIntyre found Decker from 16 yards out for his second TD of the night. Plant now led 50-33.
An unsuccessful onside kick gave the Panthers a short field, but a fourth down pass from Brown to junior Luke McFadden came up just short of the first down and the Bulls took over on their own 14 yard line. Bloomingdale went from one end of the field to the other in a matter of seconds when McIntyre hit a wide-open Kameron Faile, coming out the backfield, and Faile just kept running. Faile was stopped on the Plant 9 yard line, where moments later, on fourth down from the same 9 yard line, McIntyre broke containment and dove into the end zone for a touchdown. Jose’s extra point was good and the lead had been reduced to 50-40.
Once again, Plant recovered the onside kick. Jake Buxton cut the field in half with a 23 yard run. From their, the Panthers were able to run out the clock and avoid a final round knockout.
Unofficially, McIntyre (only a sophomore) finished the night 17 for 33 for over 300 yards and 3 TD’s. Not to be outdone, Brown connected 29 times in his 40 attempts for over 450 yards and 4 scores. Almost half of Brown’s yardage was reeled in by Reed, who ended the night with over 200 yards receiving. Jackson ended the night with almost 100 yards receiving, well over 100 yards rushing and three TD’s.
The Panthers move to 3-0-1, and take the road against Tampa Bay Tech next week, while the Bulls suffered their first defeat of the young season and fall to 2-1. Bloomingdale looks to get back on track when they host Plant City next Friday night.
And, somewhere out there, Don King is trying to figure out if he can arrange for a pay-for-view rematch.
– Robert Barnes