Super 7
1. Plant (8-1): Congratulations to coach Robert Weiner, latest in the 100-victory club.
2. Robinson (9-0): TECO doesn't possess the electricity that Jack Peters Field will have Friday (Plant-Robinson).
3. Hillsborough (7-1): Idle Terriers still uncertain of playoff fate as they await player-eligibility investigation outcome.
4. Durant (9-0): A win Friday at home against King clinches the Cougars' first undefeated regular season.
5. Wharton (7-2): We're not certain of this, but we think RB Jeff Keil just scored again.
6. Armwood (7-3): We understand a loss at Plant, but letting King hang around for four quarters?
7. Jefferson (5-4): Eligibility issues aside, this is a team no one wants to play right now.
In the conversation: Tampa Bay Tech (6-3), Sickles (6-3), Tampa Catholic (7-2), Gaither (7-2)
7-on-7 revisited?
For whatever reason, several county quarterbacks posted sandlot-type statistics Friday:
Aaron Banks, Sr., Plant. In his regular-season home finale, Banks threw TD passes of 49, 73, 30 and 26 yards against Bloomingdale.
Deon Cain, So., Tampa Bay Tech. Limited to 55 total first-half yards, the lanky 10th-grader finished with 260 as the Titans nearly knocked off Gaither.
Curtis Fitch, Jr, Steinbrenner. On a night when teammate Kendall Pearcey dazzled (227 total yards), Fitch was efficient, 8-for-13 for 204 yards. His TD passes covered 72 and 64 yards, the latter one to Pearcey.
Chase Litton, Jr, Wharton. Content to play the rare supporting role while RB Jeff Kiel carried the offense, he was 16 of 24 passing for 157 yards and a touchdown. He spread the ball to six receivers and completed his final three passes for 70 yards.
Alex McGough, Jr., Gaither. We're calling his five TD passes against Tampa Bay Tech a school record until someone refutes us. McGough (14-for-31, 295 yards, two interceptions) exploited blown coverages for scoring strikes of 8, 25, 49, 80 and 73 yards.
Will Worth, Sr., Newsome. In his final homecoming game, the two-way anchor totaled three TDs, ran for 121 yards and completed 5 of 6 passes for 70 more.
Garrett Young, So., Cambridge Christian. He threw for 419 yards, seven TDs and helped nudge reigning Class 2A state runnerup Admiral Farragut out of playoff contention.
Playoff matchups
Class 8A: Orlando Freedom (7-2) at Plant (8-1); Wharton (7-2) at Orlando Dr. Phillips (10-0)
Class 7A: Tampa Bay Tech (6-3) at Durant (9-0); Newsome (5-4) at Gaither (7-2)
Class 6A: Armwood (7-3) at Largo (9-0); Osceola (7-3) at Hillsborough (7-1)
Class 5A: Atlantic/Lake Nona/Eustis winner* at Robinson (9-0)
Class 3A: Tampa Cath. (7-2) at Fort Meade (7-2)
Class 2A: Moore Haven (7-1-1) at Carrollwood Day School (9-1)
*Will compete in a tiebreaker Monday
Audibles
"We finally showed a sense of urgency this week in practice, and it translated right to the field. Then of course, us being us, we got too happy, we took our foot off the pedal and next thing you know, they have a (22-point) run in about 10 minutes."
— Jason Stokes, Gaither coach, moments after his team held off a Tampa Bay Tech rally to win 35-32
"Every last one of them was a blown coverage."
— Jayson Roberts, Tampa Bay Tech coach, on Gaither QB Alex McGough's five TD passes
"They have been with me the whole time and have been a great group. When we got to the team, we thought we could get the players to buy into the program, and they have."
— Robert Weiner, Plant coach, crediting his assistants when asked about his 100th career victory
"He was a bulldozer out there tonight; that (cornerback) was afraid of him. I decided I'd get on top of that pony and ride it."
— Robert Davis, Carrollwood Day RB, (246 rushing yards) on the blocking of Adam Morse in a victory at Calvary Christian
By the numbers
1 Career playoff berth for Carrollwood Day. The Patriots clinched their first in five years of 11-man football after a win at Calvary Christian
2 Rushing yards for Alonso in its 37-20 loss at Wharton, about 157 below its average
5 Takeaways by Freedom in its 41-0 victory at Wiregrass Ranch
6 Wins in six games for Wharton against Alonso, in a series that dates to 2001. The Wildcats have scored at least 35 points in five of those games.
26 First downs by Newsome in its 40-7 romp of Plant City
200 Total penalty yards amassed by Tampa Bay Tech and Gaither
2007 The last year Gaither won a district title
RIGHT: Gaither QB Alex McGough throws for five TDs against TBT.