High School

3 takeaways from Plant's dominating playoff win over Bartow

The Panthers started off flat, but took advantage of numerous Yellow Jackets' miscues for the win

Andy Villamarzo

Plant quarterback JC Mirasola
Plant quarterback JC Mirasola / Alex Walworth

TAMPA, FLORIDA- Heading into Friday night's Class 6A, Region 2 quarterfinal between the Plant Panthers and Bartow Yellow Jackets, the two clubs looked like they were on a collision course.

Instead, the former turned the contest into what many games around the state of Florida ended up as: A rout.

Plant took advantage of three interceptions and ran away with a 45-7 victory over Bartow at Dads Stadium. The Panthers will move on to face Armwood in the region semifinals.

High School On SI was on hand for the game and give you three takeaways from the game:

1. Darryon Williams kicked off the game with a bang

Not much can compare to starting off the playoffs the way Plant's dynamo Darryon Williams did in the 6A-2 tilt. The Florida State commitment busted off a 98-yard kickoff return to start things off, which didn't seem to faze Bartow all that much from the outset. Nonetheless, it was just one of many plays that the junior made on the night for the Panthers. Having Williams, quarterback JC Mirasola and Florida commit Waltez Clark (three catches, 138 yards) all playing the way they're right now, this Panthers' team could be in for a deep playoff run if they play like they did on Friday night against Bartow.

2. Plant turned Bartow's turnovers into points in a hurry

The game had a weird feeling from the early going as Plant, though at the end winning handily, seemed a little flat. Bartow came out with plenty of energy in the opening quarter, bouncing back from the kickoff return for a score by Williams. What Tyler Eden's crew couldn't overcome was the turnover bug, as quarterback Blake Johnson finished with three interceptions, one of those returned for a touchdown. Plant's bend-but-don't-break defense held up while they figured thins out offensively. The Panthers stuffed the Yellow Jackets' run game, holding them to negative yardage on the ground. A interception right before halftime was turned into a 51-yard field goal by Plant's Jordan Anderson to give the Panthers a 24-7 lead. Too many miscues by Bartow were turned into easy scoring opportunities for Plant, thus seeing the Panthers advance into the region semifinals.

3. Having JC Mirasola back makes all the difference

No one is happier to see JC Mirasola back under center than Plant head coach Hank Brown and for a bevy of reasons. On Friday night, the senior signal caller continued to show why he's one of Hillsborough County's most underrated quarterbacks, completing 16-of-23 passes for 275 yards and four touchdowns. If you're counting, because we certainly are, Mirasola has thrown 19 touchdowns over the last five games. In Plant's first meeting against Armwood, they played with tight end Tripp Brown at quarterback. Now, the Panthers will enter the rematch with Mirasola back at the helm and could make things very interesting in Class 6A, Region 2 next week.

Follow SBLive Florida throughout the 2024 high school football season for Live Updates, the most up to date Schedules & Scores and complete coverage from the preseason through the state championships!

Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school football news.

Download the SBLive App

To get live updates on your phone - as well as follow your favorite teams and top games - you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App| Download Android App

-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi

Published |Modified
Andy Villamarzo
ANDY VILLAMARZO

Andy Villamarzo has been a sports writer in the Tampa Bay (FL) Area since 2007, writing for publications such as Tampa Bay Times, The Tampa Tribune, The Suncoast News, Tampa Beacon, Hernando Sun to name a few. Andy resides out of the Tarpon Springs, FL area and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in the summer of 2022 covering the Tampa Bay Area. He has quickly become one of Florida's foremost authorities on high school sports, appearing frequently on podcasts, radio programs and digital broadcasts as an expert on team rankings, recruiting and much more.

Home/Florida