Plant High Football Set to Go for Fourth State Title Against Miramar

The Plant High Panthers (13-1) are no strangers to state title games.

Saturday night's Class 8A football final against Miramar (13-0) in Orlando will be Plant's second consecutive appearance and fourth in the last five state title games. They know what it tastes like to lose one, they know what it tastes like to win one, and they do not want to lose another one.

"I have the state runner-up trophy from last year set up in the locker room so that everyone can see it when they walk in," said Panthers head coach Robert  Weiner.

The 36 graduating seniors on the team do not want to leave Plant with back-to-back runner-up finishes.

However, another program of similar success and prestige stands in their way.

Miramar won a state title two years ago and did the Panthers a favor by dropping Christopher Columbus 14-6 in the state semifinal. Columbus during an Aug. 26 preseason game and the projections, at least early in the year, had Plant and Columbus meeting again in the Class 8A final.

Miramar already shocked the high school football world when it upset St. Thomas Aquinas 27-20 in overtime on Oct. 6. It was Aquinas' second loss in 58 games.

Both teams like to throw. Plant averages 206 passing yards per game to Miramar's 190. Both have multiple 20-plus-catch receivers. Both have running back tandems. The Patriots use a thunder-and-lightning, one-two punch of junior Alex Lee and senior D'Vontis Arnold, while the Panthers use junior Wes Bullock, who is both the thunder and the lightning.

Lee and Arnold have combined for 1,575 yards and 17 touchdowns on the year, while Bullock alone has 1,159 yards and 11 touchdowns. Bullock is by no means by himself in the backfield. Senior athlete Antonio Crawford, junior running/defensive back Paris Bostick and junior quarterback Aaron Banks have all contributed 200 yards or more on the ground.

There will be great matchups all over the field.

Panther cover corners Crawford and senior Keenan Stalls will line up against the likes of senior receivers Malcolm Lewis and Devonte Mathis. Patriot senior defensive back Marrel Jackson who has eight picks on the season, will try to add to that total against Panthers senior quarterback James Few. Few has thrown for almost 2,500 yards and has 29 touchdowns to his 13 picks.

Panther senior linebackers Tate Rodgers and Mike Tate will be trying to contain Lee and Arnold.

The game puts the third-ranked team in the state, Miramar, against fourth-ranked Plant. The fireworks will come early and often.

IF YOU GO
Who: Plant High vs. Miramar, Class 8A state football final
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17
Where: Citrus Bowl, 1610 W. Church Street, Orlando, FL 32805
Tickets: $17 reserved, $12 general admission. More info at roadtoorlando.org.
Team sendoff: Fans are invited to gather in the parking lot at Plant High at 2 p.m. Saturday for a sendoff of the team bus.