By FRANCIS FEDOR
The Sumner Stingrays gutted out a hard-fought 28-24 victory over the Plant Panthers to move to 4-1 on the season and setting up a key district match up against the 5-0 Plant City Raiders on Friday, Sept. 26.
Sumner senior Kevin Inmon, defensive back, draws a beat on the Plant QB, forcing a rushed throw. Sumner’s defense came up big in sacking the QB in win over the Panthers on Sept. 19.
The Panthers seized on an early Stingray turnover by punching the ball into the end zone for the opening score, set up by an 80-yard play to Tyler Lynch. The game evolved into a number of quick scoring opportunities after scores. As has been a strong unit this season, the defense continually got after the QB with intense pressure. After a failed Sumner FG attempt, the defense pushed the Panthers backwards and forced a punt that the Rays capitalized on for their first points with Tommy (TJ) Scott tip-toeing down the sideline for an 80-yard TD. Sumner used another strong defensive effort to set up a Balaguer to Taesean Robinson (ranked 20th in FLA in yards) connection for the go-ahead TD. Balaguer finished 20 of 28 for 252 yards and two TDs. That lead was short-lived as the Panthers took the ensuing kickoff 90-yards to tie the game at 14 at the half.
Plant opened the second half, returning another kickoff for a TD. Sumner answered and found #4 to put the Stingrays back on top but missed on the extra point. The Panthers added an FG from Davie Rolle, who seemed to be the Plant offense, to take the lead out to 24-20, setting up a thrilling finish in the Tank. After Sumner turned the ball over on downs after threatening to score, the defense stepped up and gave new life back to the offense, and Balaguer marched the Rays down the field, punctuated by a short TD to Robinson. The defense then shut down the last furious Plant drive and, as they have much of this season, rose to the occasion and used two sacks to turn the ball back over to the offense. Balaguer finished up, running out the clock with a couple of kneels.
Francis Fedor Photos
Stingray junior RB Cedrick Johnson gets outside of the Plant Panther defenders for a gain during the Stingray win on Sept. 19.
The ground game proved to play a big part in the win, gaining 262 yards on the ground. Much of that came on a couple of big plays, but allowed Balaguer to set up in the pocket and find receivers. The defense did its part with six sacks. Damarion Evans led all defenders with five tackles, four of them for losses and a sack. Revels (2), Garcia (2), and Hakeem Gbadegesin also had sacks. The defense is having an outstanding season.
The Rays could have been caught looking ahead to the marquee matchup with the Raiders, but Head Coach George Selvie and his staff kept the team loose while motivating them to keep pushing and walked away with the huge win. Now, Plant City brings an undefeated record to the Tank, where the Stingrays are also undefeated. Game on!
Sumner Tommy (TJ) Scott signals with the sideline to “Go for Two” to push the lead to four points and forcing Plant to need a go ahead TD late in the game in the Stingray win on Sept. 19.
The Morgan Mustangs lost their first game, 26-6, to the Lennard Longhorns, the first loss for the Mustangs program under Marlo Hollingshed. Coach Hollingshed and his staff are building an exciting program in Wimauma and taking a close look at the players that will come together to form the first Varsity roster for the 2026 campaign, the first year Morgan HS will have a senior class.
See separate article for the rest of the South Shore Six write-ups.
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