Plant grinds out 4M region final win over Sumner
RIVERVIEW, FLORIDA- The Ascent.
That's been the motto for the Plant Panthers the last couple of seasons under head coach Hank Brown.
Ascending upwards is something the Panthers have achieved under Brown's watch and on Friday night, they took it another level up without arguably the team's best player.
Plant's defense rose to the occasion and held Sumner's high powered offense in check, without the services of Florida commit Waltez Clark in the second half, en route to a 20-14 win in a Class 4M, Region 2 final.
The trip to the state semifinals will be the first since 2017 when Bob Weiner was the head coach. For Brown, who was an assistant under Weiner during his run at Plant, it will be his first time leading the Panthers to states.
Clark went out late in the second quarter after his ankle got rolled up on at the end of a play. Trainers wrapped up Clark's ankle, but it was determined the 2-way star wouldn't be available in the second half.
That's when Brown turned to his team and went to the 'next man up' mentality. Next man up to take leadership was athlete Chase Jarrett. The senior running back/linebacker stepped in admirably with Clark sidelined with the injury.
Trailing 14-9 with less than 20 seconds before intermission, Brown called Jarrett's number to punch in a touchdown to give Plant the lead. Jarrett muscled in a 1-yard touchdown to give the Panthers a 17-14 advantage heading into halftime.
Sumner (11-2) opened the game in exciting fashion by driving right down the field and senior quarterback Greg Smith III connected on a 27-yard touchdown pass to Malik Brown to give the Stingrays a 7-0 lead. Later on in the quarter, Plant would answer with a field goal by Camilo Nanfra to cut the lead to 7-3.
Plant (11-2) took its first lead of the game when quarterback JC Mirasola found Clark on a quick slant that the tailback went 55 yards to pay dirt, giving the Panthers a 9-7 lead in the second quarter.
The Stingrays had their final lead of the night when Smith III threw a 78-yard strike to Brown, putting Sumner ahead 14-9. After that. however, Sumner could never find any kind of consistency on the offensive side of the ball.
Smith III started the night off very efficiently, completing seven of his first eight passes. It would be the senior's last six passes that hurt offensively as Smith III went 1-of-6 and was under a lot of duress the entire second half.
Mirasola on the other hand was cool as a cucumber for Plant's offense as the quarterback seemingly had an answer in almost every third or fourth down situation. The junior quarterback finished the night completing seven passes for 132 yards and a touchdown.
The Panthers will have to hit the road next week in the state semifinals when they face defending Class 4M champion Columbus.
FHSAA 2023 CHAMPIONSHIPS BRACKETS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 4M STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 4S STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 3M STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 3S STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 2M STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 2S STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 1M STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 1S STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 1R STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl
