BRADENTON — The Manatee Hurricanes are in the Class 5A state championship game because they upset the top-ranked team in the country.
The Tampa Plant Panthers are in the Class 5A state championship game because they became the first team to ever go into Bryant Stadium and score a postseason shutout over Lakeland.
The battle for the 5A state title may not include the teams everyone expected. But neither Manatee coach Joe Kinnan nor his counterpart, Plant’s Robert Weiner, are shocked about the team standing on the other sideline — especially after both got a look at each other’s semifinal victories.
Manatee (13-1) beat Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, winners of 37 straight games and the past two Class 5A state championships.
Plant (12-1), which won the Class 4A state title last year, adjusted to its bump to 5A nicely by dominating the Dreadnaughts 20-0.
The Canes and Panthers meet at 7 p.m. Friday at the Florida Citrus Bowl, marking the first time since 2003 a Class 5A state title game won’t feature either Lakeland or Aquinas.
“The fact they shut out (Lakeland’s) explosive offense, that in itself to me was ... wow,” Kinnan said during Monday’s conference call hosted by the Central Florida Sports Commission. “They were just so physical up front, they swarmed the football, and they were just very good. Offensively, they were able to control the football. If it was a three and out, it was a long time before (Lakeland) got on the field again.”
Weiner was equally impressed with Manatee’s 28-20 win over Aquinas, a game in which the Canes never trailed and limited the Raiders’ high-octane offense to just 252 total yards.
“With all due respect to Aquinas — they have been a great team for a number of years — they got beat by a better team that night,” Weiner said. “When we beat Lakeland, everyone was saying, ‘Get ready for Aquinas.’ And when you hear all that, you expect they’ll roll right into a state final. But you watch the film, and you can’t say if they played 10 times, Aquinas would have nine times.
“Manatee was the better football team that night. They just outplayed them.”
Weiner saw the Hurricanes in person when Manatee defeated Plant 49-33 in a Kickoff Classic.
Kinnan, however, is discounting that game, especially since Plant was without guys such as starting quarterback Philip Ely and linebacker Mike Mirabella.
Ely has thrown for 1,717 yards and 19 touchdowns this season.
“I think you can throw out what happened in the preseason,” Kinnan said. “Neither of us were at the point that we are at now. They had some guys that didn’t play. ... And so did we. We had several guys that were out. Hopefully, we’re a whole lot better than we were back then defensively.”
It’s full circle for both teams, both of which have championship game experience — Manatee is looking for its third consecutive decade with a championship, having won state titles in 1983, ’85, ’89 and ’92.
Plant has thrived since Weiner arrived in 2004, winning Class 4A titles in 2006 and ’08.
The Canes and Panthers are in the state final. So what if few saw it coming?
“We were ranked (65th) in the country, and we lost to a very good Venice team and fell off the radar. And that was good — I was happy we fell off the radar,” Kinnan said. “I really felt, at the beginning of the year, it would be us, Plant, Lakeland and St. Thomas. And if it wasn’t us, it was going to be Venice. ... Maybe that loss helped us down the road.
“We have a different statement each week, as far as what needs to be accomplished. And our statement last week was a quote from Gen. (George S.) Patton — ‘It’s only by doing things others have not that one could advance.’ You couldn’t pick a more appropriate statement. But last week was not the state championship game — it was a hurdle we had to clear to get to this point.”
