No. 4 Plant Panthers (3-1) at No. 15 Wharton Wildcats (3-1)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Mitchell D. Muley Stadium
Last year: The Panthers, who led 28-0 at halftime, threw for 285 yards and rushed for 250 yards in their 37-19 victory over the Wildcats. Wharton QB Chase Litton threw for 276 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the losing effort.
How they match up: Plant has won seven-consecutive district titles and a win over Wharton would put them on the path for No. 8. Wharton hasn’t won a district title since 200 and would be in the driver’s seat of the Class 8A-6 with a victory.
Junior Colby Brown will try to lead Plant to another district title. He’ll get his first start at quarterback for the Panthers while Aaron Banks rests an injured shoulder. Brown will get help from the versatile Wesley Bullock.
Plant’s secondary, which features Georgia-commit Paris Bostick, gets a boost with the return of starting strong safety Reeves Rogers, who served a two-game suspension following his ejection from the game against John Curtis Christian in New Orleans on Sept. 7.
Wharton’s Litton will try to test that secondary. His 950 passing yards are second-best in the Hillsborough County. He’s thrown nine touchdowns and five interceptions, completing 59% of his passes.
Litton’s favorite targets are senior receivers Keith Hopkins and Deon Sampson. Vernon Hargreaves III, one of the nation’s top recruits, is another option in the passing game. And don’t count him out of the return game. Hargreaves is a game changer who makes things happen whenever he lines up on the field.
But Hargreaves, a University of Florida commit, does most of his damage on defense where he leads the team with two interceptions and is second with 35 tackles. LB Rocky Enos leads the team with 51 tackles (34 solo).