TAMPA — Kyle Henderson was in the second grade the last time Plant lost a district football game. For as long as the senior defensive lineman has been a Panther — and even six years before that — winning a district title has been the norm for the four-time state champion team.
“I never thought a team could do that,” Henderson said of the streak. “To not lose a single district game …is crazy.”
The Panthers are in the hunt for their 10th straight district title this year, an accomplishment that would make coach Robert Weiner 10 for 11 at Plant. But first, they’ll have to take on an improved Bloomingdale team, which, one year ago, almost caused the streak to come crashing down.
The Bulls took an early 14-0 lead in the Sept. 20 game at Dad’s Stadium. Plant scored the next three touchdowns to get back in it. From then on, though, it was simply a shootout, Weiner recalled.
“As one moment went to another moment, neither team could stop the other one,” he said. “We’re normally able to make some great in-game adjustments …but it just seemed like in that game, anything we tried to come up with, they had another answer for.”
Plant pulled out a 50-40 win, due in large part to quarterback Colby Brown’s record-breaking performance. The senior set Plant records with 33 completions and passing 519 yards.
But where the Panthers couldn’t seem to click was on defense, which allowed the second-most points in a regular-season matchup during Weiner’s tenure at Plant.
“We were disappointed. It was just like, ‘Oh, we’re glad that’s over,’ ” Henderson recalled. “We didn’t come out that confident. We didn’t trust our abilities.”
It’s a feeling Henderson said he and the defense aren’t about to let happen again.
Bloomingdale returns most of its offensive weapons from a year ago, including receivers Doug Sandberg and Logan Crouse, as well as quarterbacks Tommy McLaughlin and Isaiah McIntyre, who shared the job last season. Against Plant in 2013, McIntyre threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns.
And while Plant has lost Division I level talent on the defensive side, in many ways, the defense, led by junior linebacker Joe Ryan’s 44 tackles, has been the bright spot for the Panthers this year.
The offense sputtered early in a season-opening loss to Lowndes (Ga.), but the defense kept the Panthers in the game until nearly the last minute. Just last week in a win against Gaither, the defense held the Cowboys — who combined for 57 points in their first two games — to just 10, while the Plant offense was mostly silent the first three quarters.
The key to being successful against Bloomingdale, Henderson said, will be to make a defensive stand from the start. After all, no one has forgotten Bloomingdale’s hearty attempt one year ago to end the nearly decade-long streak.
Weiner won’t let them.
“We just keep reminding the kids they put 40 on us last year,” Weiner said. “We’re going to have to be able to do a better job, and just remove the 4 part of 40.”
Contact Kelly Parsons at kaparsons@tampabay.com. Follow @_kellyparsons.