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Plant Defeats East Lake 28-21 in Overtime – SPT

By: Bob Putnam
St. Pete Times
December 3, 2011

EAST LAKE — This was a game few thought Plant High School could lose. The Panthers, a program steeped in playoff tradition with two state football titles the past three years, was playing East Lake in the Class 8A region final. The Eagles were playing in the postseason’s third round for the first time. Plant was too experienced, the experts said. Too explosive. Too much. The Panthers were favored by 28 points in one computer projection, the largest margin of any playoff game regardless of classification. The prognostications were correct, but Friday’s game turned out to be anything but a blowout. Plant trailed most of the game and needed a touchdown to tie with 28 seconds remaining in regulation before winning in overtime 28-21.

The Panthers (12-1) will host Neptune Beach Fletcher in the state semifinals. “We had been humming along in the playoffs, but I had to put in the kids’ heads that this wasn’t going to be easy,” Plant coach Robert Weiner said. “East Lake was physical and brought it on every play. There was so much character on both sides tonight. And really, to be honest, East Lake deserved to win as we did.” For 45 minutes, the Eagles (9-4) ignored the predictions and kept the Panthers in check. From Tyler Lane getting the tough yards on the ground, to gutsy quarterback Pete DiNovo completing passes at pivotal moments, to the defense playing without fear, East Lake acted as if this was a pressureless contest.

The Panthers, who had scored more than 50 points in each of their first two playoff games, resorted to trickery to take their first lead as Aaron Banks took a handoff on a reverse and lofted a 56-yard TD pass to Austin Roberts. The extra point was blocked as Plant led 6-0 in the first. In the second quarter, the Eagles found their rhythm on offense and scored on a 2-yard touchdown run by Tyler Lane. Sebastian Gonzalez’s extra point gave East Lake a 7-0 lead. East Lake scored again on a 45-yard pass from DiNovo to Artavis Scott, who eluded a defender to race down the sideline for a touchdown. That made it 14-6 Eagles at the half. Plant responded, capitalizing on a fumble and converting it into points as Wesley Bullock scored on a 2-yard touchdown run. Banks threw to quarterback James Few on a 2-point tie 14-all.

The Panthers appeared as if they would break the game open in the fourth quarter with a drive that reached East Lake 2. But the Eagles recovered a fumble and went on a methodical drive that was capped by Lane’s second touchdown on a 2-yard run. East Lake led  21-14. Plant countered with a drive past midfield. But on fourth down, Few was picked off by Devin Abraham with 3:31 remaining in regulation. The Eagles appeared to have run for a first down that helped kill the clock, but a holding penalty eventually forced them to punt. With less than a minute left, Few completed three key passes, the last an 8-yard touchdown pass to Dereck Mann with 28 seconds left to force overtime. “East Lake was ready to play and we weren’t,” Few said. “This was a great atmosphere to play in. We had a huge fight on our hands and had to regroup in the second half. We felt like we were getting killed, but were only down by one score.”

Plant took the lead in overtime on a 10-yard run by Bullock. The Panthers sealed the win by stopping the Eagles on downs. Afterward, East Lake coach Bob Hudson stood in a corridor of the locker room, and, after a long pause, walked out to talk to the media. Hudson thought about it for a moment, but no matter how much he replayed the ending in his head, it was not going to change the outcome. “We were supposed to have the biggest loss in the state,” Hudson said. “But we had them and gave everyone their money’s worth. I’m so proud of these players, seniors and coaches.”

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12/03/2011 | Categories: News, Video | Leave A Comment »

Plant Outlasts East Lake in Overtime – TBO

Plant's Antonio Crawford gets a handle on East Lake's Artavis Scott early in Friday's game. Photo Credit KEVIN HOWE Tampa Tribune

Plant's Antonio Crawford gets a handle on East Lake's Artavis Scott early in Friday's game. Photo Credit KEVIN HOWE Tampa Tribune

By Eddie Daniels
December 3, 2011
Tampa Tribune

Sometimes experience can be the 12th man on the field. Just ask Plant. Having trudged through the playoffs and played in a state title game in four of the past five seasons, the Panthers know a thing or two about resolve. And it took every ounce of that know-how to escape East Lake with a 28-21 victory in the Class 8A-Region 2 final.

“I really think that helped,” Plant coach Robert Weiner said of his team’s playoff experience. “I don’t think it was a detriment to (East Lake). But I think it was an advantage to us because I think, our kids, regardless of what situation we ever get in, our kids still believe and not only believe, but just expect that we’re still going to win the game … and I felt that on the sidelines the entire time.”

Trailing 21-14, Plant (12-1) had just given up its fourth turnover on an interception and the Eagles (9-4) took over with the ball at their own 16 with 3:28 left in the game. The Plant defense stepped up, forcing East Lake to punt with 1:55 left. Panthers senior quarterback James Few (14 of 23, 238 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs) competed three of his four passes on that drive, capped by a 9-yard pass to receiver Dereck Mann.

Mann bobbled the ball practically his entire fall to the turf, but finally cradled it as he laid on his back in the end zone. The successful William Few extra point knotted the game at 21 with 28 seconds remaining in regulation. On East Lake’s ensuing possession, Plant linebacker Eliel Shines tipped a pass from Pete DiNovo (16 of 23, 198 yards, TD, 2 INTs) and Quinn Metoyer intercepted it, giving Plant a final shot at a win.

“It was unbelievable,” Metoyer said of the pick. “My boy Eliel Shines tipped it up and I saw it twirling, but I don’t remember catching it. … Just crazy.” East Lake turned the ball over three times, once on a fumble and twice on interceptions. Plant attempted a 49-yard field goal two plays later, but the kick sailed left to send it to OT.

Plant had the first possession and all it needed was one play — a Wesley Bullock carry to the right side of the offensive line. Bullock (20 carries for 74 yards, two TDs) sliced through the Eagles defense, scoring from 10 yards out. The Panthers defense then stopped East Lake on four plays on their lone overtime possession.

“This feels good because in 7-on-7s, we’ve been in plenty of overtimes, but this wasn’t the same,” Bullock said. “This was a statement. We don’t stop fighting until that clock says zero zero. Obviously we wanted it more and we came out victorious. It was a great win.”

1 QTR 2 QTR 3 QTR 4 QTR  OT
  FINAL
Plant 6 0 8 7 7 28
East Lake 0 14 0 7 0 21

P — Roberts 56 pass from J. Few (kick blocked)
E — Lane 1 run (Gonzalez kick)
E — Scott 56 pass from DiNovo (Gonzalez kick)
P — Bullock 1 run (Banks pass to Rogers)
E — Lane 4 run (Gonzalez kick)
P — Mann 9 pass from J. Few (W. Few kick)
P — Bullock 10 run (W. Few kick)

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12/03/2011 | Categories: News | Leave A Comment »

For Grohs, a Touchdown Pass To Remember – TBO

For as long as Kyle Groh can remember, his dad, Conrad, has thrown the football with him. Photo Credit BILL WARD Tampa Tribune

For as long as Kyle Groh can remember, his dad, Conrad, has thrown the football with him. Photo Credit BILL WARD Tampa Tribune

By: Katherine Smith
Tampa Tribune
December 2, 2012

It took seven plays and 62 yards last Friday night for Plant High third-string quarterback Kyle Groh to throw his first touchdown pass of the season. The 15-yard pass to receiver Walker Barnes was arguably the most meaningful of Plant’s countless touchdowns this season. The junior quarterback sprinted to the sideline and pointed up in the stands to his family.Tears flowed from Catherine and Conrad Groh’s eyes. His sister, Lauren, a Michigan State student home for Thanksgiving, even got misty eyed. So were a lot of other eyes in the Dad’s Stadium crowd.It was a moment that almost wasn’t. Conrad nearly missed the moment. He nearly missed a lot of moments. “He should be gone,” Catherine said.

Conrad’s journey back from near death has been about perseverance, resiliency, not giving up, but mostly about love. For as long as Kyle can remember, his dad, Conrad, has thrown the football with him. On July 31, that father-son bonding nearly ended. As she had done so many times before, Catherine drove to Tampa International Airport to pick up her husband, a US Airways pilot. While she waited in the car, Conrad texted his wife that he didn’t feel well.

When he arrived at curbside, he was pale and sweaty. Catherine rushed to his side. She grabbed his bag to put in the car when suddenly Conrad fell to the ground, his head striking the asphalt with a sickening thud. “It’s a sound I will never forget,” Catherine said. Catherine, a nurse who has tended to babies since 1979, sprang into action and immediately began CPR. There was no pulse. Conrad was not breathing. As she began compressions, Catherine heard a crack — yet another sound she won’t be able to forget. She broke three of Conrad’s ribs while trying to jump-start his heart, but it worked. Just before paramedics arrived, Conrad began breathing again and was actually sitting up before he was loaded into an ambulance. At St. Joseph’s Hospital, doctors assessed him and the news wasn’t good. Conrad had a pulmonary embolism and a heart attack; which came first is uncertain. And for added measure, he had bleeding on the brain from the fall, which would prevent doctors from treating the heart attack.

Nearly 300 miles away, Kyle couldn’t sleep. He stirred in his bunk at Muscular Dystrophy Camp in Tallahassee, a Plant summer tradition where players serve as counselors. He had an overwhelming feeling something was wrong. When coach Robert Weiner walked into the cabin and asked him to step outside, his fears were confirmed. “It was hard,” Weiner said. “I was very direct with him. I told him his father had taken a fall and there was potentially a heart attack and it didn’t look good.” The two began the five-hour drive back to Tampa. They talked about football and music. The last two songs Kyle heard as they approached St. Joseph’s Hospital were “Lady” by Styx, his mom and dad’s song, and Phil Collins’ “You’ll Be in My Heart,” Kyle and his mom’s song.

Doctors told Catherine to gather the family, and Kyle knew what that meant. “The first thing that went through my mind was who is going to throw the ball with me,” he said. “What was going to happen the first time I throw the ball and he’s not there. And that’s when I finally started crying.” Catherine has delivered similar news to many parents throughout her 32-year career as nurse, but she wasn’t ready to accept it when it came to her own husband.

Conrad and Catherine met at a South Tampa McDonald’s on Dale Mabry Highway. Conrad was 19 and stationed at MacDill Air Force Base. Catherine was 15 and worked the counter. Conrad, in his red and white car that earned him the nickname “Captain America,” just meshed with Catherine, a feisty Italian. They’ve been married 30 years. “The biggest hero in all of this is my wife,” Conrad said. “She saved my life.”

The Grohs believe things happen for a reason. There’s a reason Catherine — and not a friend —  picked up Conrad from the airport that day. There’s a reason Conrad didn’t have a layover in Charlotte, N.C., which would have left him alone in a hotel room. And there was a reason Conrad survived. He became “that guy” at St. Joseph’s, the medical miracle doctors stopped by to marvel at during his 10-day day. The family believes prayers and love brought Conrad back. The ultimate show of support is evident on the Plant players’ helmets in the form of a Captain America-inspired red and blue sticker with the initials “CG” in the middle. “There’s a lot of power in that sticker,” Conrad said. “If those guys are going to go out there and get pounded, then I’m going to do what I need to do to get better.”

The long road to recovery has hit some bumps. There was a minor setback when Conrad had to get a pacemaker, something he’s still adjusting to, as well as his new unemployed life. After 23,000 hours in the sky, Conrad’s days as a pilot are over. His next venture has “yet to be determined,” he said. What he does know is where he’ll be tonight — sitting in the stands to cheer for Plant in the Class 8A-Region 2 final at East Lake, with the hopes of seeing his son provide another magical moment.

“That touchdown was Thanksgiving, it was Christmas, it was the best birthday ever,” Conrad said. “I will always remember that feeling and I’m so grateful I was able to see it.”

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12/02/2011 | Categories: News | Tags: | Leave A Comment »

Plant 48 Dr. Phillips 13. Message Sent -BCP

Antonio Crawford's 98 yard KO Return in the 2nd Quarter. Photo Courtesy of Big County Preps

Antonio Crawford's 98 yard KO Return in the 2nd Quarter. Photo Courtesy of Big County Preps

By: Doug Pugh
Big County Preps
November 26, 2011

Another year, another classification, another Regional Final. Top-flight teams that come to Dad’s Stadium in November literally seem to never find their way out. It’s just like the old saying, “The more things change….the more they stay the same.” No truer words spoken in the case of the Plant Panthers (11-1) as they flat-out embarrassed a Dr. Phillips (10-2) team that didn’t need much help embarrassing themselves (more on that shortly) by a 49-13 margin. The win sets up Plant making the trek across the Courtney Campbell Causeway and up McMullen Booth to East Lake (9-3), who won a thrilling game over Palm Harbor University 33-26 in the other Region 2 Semifinal.

On defense, the Panthers forced 8 fumbles (3 lost) and picked Nick Patti off twice, as well as keeping the speedy QB on the run the entire night. What Mike Tate didn’t destroy in his path, there were equal opportunity destroyers in the form Tate Rogers, Drew Madhu, Paris Bostick, this list could go on for a while. As shaky as Plant’s Special Teams might have been last week, it was Antonio Crawford’s 98-yard return at the beginning of the 2Q that started to turn the knife slowly into the hearts of Phillips. The score came literally seconds after Kerry Bernard scored from 2 yards out to inch the Panthers closer at 14-7. Even the Dr. Phillips coaching staff was starting to feel like things were changing, but Crawford was not in the mood for discussion. The Georgia Tech Commit was also able to neutralize WR Trey Griffey eventually causing him to throw his helmet in disgust towards the end of the game.

The Panthers Defense (Plant’s Version) allowed only 63 yards on 40 carries to the 6A Runners-up. They also managed to hold Patti to a 16-for-39, 168 yards, TD, INT on the night. The thing that stood out to me was the hitting. Serious cracking of helmets. That may have been one of the most intense defensive efforts I’ve ever seen from them. It was a swarming, and actually quite angry-looking bunch of boys out there. As mentioned, Mike Tate was simply everywhere including in the luggage rack on the Dr. Phillips’ Charter headed back. It’s hard to count the number of times Antonio Crawford was beaten by the Under Armour All-American Trey Griffey because I don’t recall there being but maybe one?  Plant also did a textbook job of stringing plays out wide and flushing Patti to the sidelines frequently. Plant was hardly ever exposed in the middle.

Antonio Crawford during his 98yd KO Return in the 2nd Quarter.

There were moments were it looked as though Plant knew exactly what DP was going to run. They confused Patti at the line of scrimmage for the vast majority of the night. Every time DPHS moved the ball in the 1st Half though, there was a shotgun standing by to blast holes in feet in case of success. That was also an immense help to say the least. The one bright spot for Dr. Phillips is that they won the 1st Down battle 21-13.

On offense it was none other than James Few that made the wheels on the bus go round and round. The Senior finished 9-for-13 with 118 yards and 4TD’s. Wesley Bullock was also in the mix with 2 TD’s. (1rush, 1 pass). The Junior RB finished the night with 15 carries for 106 yards as well. His catch from Few was credited as being a 5-yard TD. not to be outdone Austin Aikens and Dereck Mann each added their own TD’s both of them recipients of beautiful passes from Few.

The game was stopped briefly while the Paramedics tended to Dr. Phillips’ Ian O’Grady who laid motionless for nearly 10 minutes on the ground. There was a slight delay in his removal to start due to the fact the on-site ambulance had just left with another DPHS player with a broken arm. At last check, the young man was moving his extremities, but had some pretty bad swelling in his neck. In a beautiful display of brotherhood, the Panthers lined up where O’Grady was carted off giving him what support they could under the circumstances. That seemed to inspire Dr. Phillips from that point on. And for all the wrong reasons I may add.

The game was marred by some downright horrific attempts by Dr. Phillips players to bait Plant into Personal Foul/Ejection Penalties that would surely end in suspension. There was even a moment that nearly the entire starting 11 on defense was cheering after the sandwich hit they laid on Aaron Banks. Ordinarily cheering wouldn’t be a bad thing. Except they were applauding the fact that Banks wasn’t getting up right away and laying on the ground trying to catch his breath or count the number of broken ribs. Even Mr. Suh from Detroit thinks they should have chilled. Even worse, they started to taunt they Plant stands and some even decided to give the old “one-fingered salute”. Mind you, the score was 42-13 at this point. There were also members of the Dr. Phillips section that were escorted out of the stadium as well.

In the end, all folks wearing their Black & Gold needed to do was point at the scoreboard as the Orange County version of the Panthers headed back down I-4 with tails firmly tucked between legs. Don’t worry though guys. You’re not the only “good” team that’s looked like a nightmare in that stadium and under those lights, and you won’t be the last. heck, you may even experience again next year of you’re not careful. They have memories like elephants those panthers do.

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11/27/2011 | Categories: News | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

Plant 49, Orlando Dr. Phillips 13 – SPT

By: Don Jensen
St. Pete Times
November 26, 2011

Orlando Dr. Phillips brought offensive power to Dads Stadium on Friday night with Boise State commitment Nick Patti at quarterback and former major-league home run hitter Ken Griffey Jr. in the stands to watch his son Trey.

Plant senior linebacker Mike Tate reminded everyone that defense counts even more. He had two of his team’s five turnovers — all leading to 28 points — as Plant continued its quest for a fourth state championship with a 49-13 victory in a Class 8A region semifinal.

Senior quarterback James Few remained hot, throwing four touchdowns after a career-high six-TD effort in last week’s win over Orlando Boone. But it was the Plant defense that set the tone. It forced eight fumbles (recovered three) and intercepted Patti twice.

“We knew (Patti) was a running quarterback and that we had to contain him,” said Tate, who had an interception, fumble recovery and deflected two passes. “We were told that we just need to be physical with him. All quarterbacks are going to give up if you’re physical with them. (After halftime) we ran a lot more blitzes to the right because he was rolling that way. That really helped.”

Plant, which was never threatened after Antonio Crawford’s 98-yard kickoff return early in the second quarter increased his team’s lead to 21-7, gave Patti (16-of-38, 169 yards, one TD) fits in the second half. He completed only 6 of 18 passes for 29 yards after intermission, as Dr. Phillips was held to 9 yards on 32 plays.

“Our coaches talked the game up all week and said that we were equally matched,” Tate said. “All we had to do was execute and be physical with them.”

Few threw only 14 passes, completing nine for 120 yards. Two of his touchdown passes went to Dereck Mann. Wesley Bullock also scored twice and had 107 yards rushing on 15 carries. Trey Griffey, a senior wide receiver for Dr. Phillips, caught eight passes for 85 yards.

The game got chippy in the second half with both teams combining for more penalty yards (160) than offensive yards (110). Plant’s final touchdown came with 1:39 left on a 15-yard pass from Kyle Groh to Walker Barnes.

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11/26/2011 | Categories: News | Leave A Comment »

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