Palmetto survives another playoff scare. Now the Tigers play district foe Charlotte
For the second straight week, Palmetto High faced a team they breezed past during district play in the regular season.
And for the second straight week, the Tigers survived a scare to advance in the Class 6A state playoffs.
But the way Palmetto performed in Friday’s 23-17 victory over Port Charlotte High at Harllee Stadium is a cause for concern surrounding those within the Tigers’ football program.
It’s why head coach Dave Marino instructed his players to get back to work at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
“You’re not going to win a regional championship playing that kind of football,” Marino said.
Palmetto (11-1) entered the season as a team with expectations to make a deep playoff run. A first-round, 24-21, win over district rival Braden River came with several turnovers and penalties.
The self-inflicted wounds, which could have been a wake up call, bled into Friday’s game with Port Charlotte.
“Obviously, we didn’t answer that alarm,” Marino said. “We still did the same things that we did last week. ... We turned the ball over. We played behind the chains. We’ve got to play. We’ve got to execute.”
Surviving and advancing, Palmetto has a week to prepare for a third-straight rematch in the playoffs with a district foe. Punta Gorda Charlotte will come to Harllee Stadium after knocking off the region’s No. 2 seed, Lakeland Lake Gibson, 45-42, in four overtimes on the road.
In all three regular-season meetings against teams the Tigers played or are scheduled to play in the playoffs, they won easily.
They defeated Braden River, 27-3, Port Charlotte, 47-7 and Charlotte, 34-0.
Port Charlotte kept Friday’s game close, before Palmetto took a 13-point lead with 10:01 remaining in the game. Eddravian Butler took an option pitch from LaJohntay Wester for a 4-yard touchdown run.
Then a couple mishaps offensively were sandwiched around two solid defensive stands for the Tigers.
Palmetto forced a turnover on downs and picked up a big interception from senior defensive back Raequon Crawford.
“I saw my man come deep and then I saw him do a comeback route,” Crawford said. “Then I saw the number two receiver do a corner route, so I was playing in between them. I saw the quarterback throw it up, and I ran up and jumped it.”
However, the Tigers failed to chew up clock in the series following the turnover on downs. And then running back Sagel Hickson went backwards from Palmetto’s 23 yard line all the way back to inside the 1 on one play.
That possession also saw quarterback Xavier Williams, who finished 19 of 25 for 291 yards and a touchdown, injure his knee. He did not return to the game and had his knee iced, though Marino said he’ll be back next week.
The Tigers were penalized nine times for 60 yards and turned the ball over twice. But the defense limited the damage to just three points off turnovers.
“Defense wins championships, but you can only keep living on the edge for so long or you’re going to fall off a cliff,” Marino said.
Port Charlotte scored on a 22-yard touchdown pass with 1:25 left in the fourth quarter, before an onside kick attempt went out-of-bounds. Palmetto was forced to punt and the Tigers defended two Hail Mary heaves to end the game.
“If we don’t get out of this funk, it’s going to be a short run,” Marino said.
Now Palmetto turns its attention to Charlotte in one of two region championship games held in Manatee County next Friday.
Manatee High will host the other one after defeating New Port Richey Mitchell, 31-28, on the road Friday in Class 7A-Region 3. The Hurricanes get a rematch with district rival Venice High.
The Indians pummeled Palm Beach Lakes, 62-35, to advance to the region final in a rematch with the Hurricanes.
Manatee defeated Venice, 30-13, on Oct. 25 to win a district title. The winner on Friday will advance to the state semifinals.
This story was originally published November 16, 2019 at 6:53 AM with the headline "Palmetto survives another playoff scare. Now the Tigers play district foe Charlotte."
