Prep football: Manatee High booted from playoffs by Dr. Phillips
ORLANDO -- For Dr. Phillips it was a simple game plan. The Panthers were going to run the ball right at Manatee and dare the Hurricanes to stop them.
Manatee couldn't even slow them down and saw its season end with a 40-21 loss in the Class 8A-Region 2 semifinal on Friday night.
The Panthers (9-3) rolled up 295 rushing in the first half to take a 27-7 lead, then kept it going after intermission to finish with 451 yards rushing and win going away.
"They wanted it more this year. The got their revenge and just ran it down our throat," said senior safety Travon Rumph, who was on the same field last year when the Canes beat Dr. Phillips 24-21 in the region final.
"They executed and made it happen. We didn't execute. We didn't do what the coaches told us to do, which was basically stop the run and make tackles," Rumph said. "Their size wasn't the issue. Just about every offensive line is big so I don't think their offensive line was the difference. I
look back at my career and it's a blur. This is it for me,"
Dr. Phillips' stable of running backs beat up Manatee's front four and then just wore the Hurricanes out with three players surpassing 100 rushing yards rushing led by Emare Hogan, who finished with 150.
Manatee finishes its season at 9-3. The Canes ended the regular season with seven straight wins that went to a running clock, but on this night they had almost suffered the reverse trailing 40-7 before putting together some late scoring drives.
Things went south early for Manatee. The Canes put together a good drive on their first possession of the game until D.J. Charles intercepted a pass from A.J. Colagiovanni and took it 60 yards for a touchdown.
"We put ourselves behind the chains with penalties and we couldn't get any rhythm going and couldn't finish drives," Manatee head coach John Booth said. "The pick-six on our first drive, we missed a block on the perimeter and he undercut the throw and it changed the momentum. When you are playing from behind against a good team like that, it's tough."
Hogan broke free for a 60-yard touchdown in the second quarter for a 14-0 lead. Manatee responded when Kavious Price caught a swing pass and took it 47 yards for a touchdown to cut the Canes deficit to 14-7 with 4:49 left in the first half.
But Dr. Phillips got a 45-yard run from Alvin Bryant and, on the next play, scored on a one-yard run from from quarterback Marvin Washington.
The Panthers then extended their lead to 27-7 on a 32-yard touchdown pass with no time left before halftime.
"We did a nice job of plugging up the middle and then they bounced it to the perimeter and we couldn't make tackles. We were either out of position or we missed a tackle," Booth said. "We saw that on film. We knew going into the game we would have to wrap up and not miss tackles to have chance."
Tarique Milton had a career night for the Hurricanes. The junior receiver caught 14 passes for 207 yards. Kavious Price finished his career with three touchdown receptions, hauling in nine pases for 83 yards. Colagiovanni completed 27 passes for 322 yards and three touchdowns.
"This was tough, but I told our kids one game doesn't define the season. This team has overcome a lot of adversity," Booth said. "To me, that is success and tonight I like how we finished. I liked the fight in the kids, but when you get in the playoffs and you are playing good teams, you have to execute. We just didn't make the plays. Tarique had a great game. In the playoffs, you have to cash in on the other team's mistakes."
This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Prep football: Manatee High booted from playoffs by Dr. Phillips ."