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Preseason football: Plant 46, Venice 42

 
TAMPA - Plant running back Leonard Parker looks for running room during first-half action against Venice in a preseason classic Friday night. Taken 8-18-17
TAMPA - Plant running back Leonard Parker looks for running room during first-half action against Venice in a preseason classic Friday night. Taken 8-18-17
Published Aug. 19, 2017

TAMPA — A year after losing to Venice in a preseason classic, Plant got some payback with a 46-42 victory over the Indians in the 2017 preseason game — but it was far from easy.

Every time the Panthers appeared to get a comfortable lead — including a 20-point lead in the third quarter — the Indians would strike back (Venice had scoring plays of 32 and 56 yards, and a couple of pass completions over 35 yards).

Plant, however, never trailed, grabbing an early first-quarter lead with a 28-yard field goal from Evan Passath, who also drilled most of his kickoffs into the end zone.

Key plays: There were many to choose from, but when Venice lost a fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half, it was pretty devastating. Plant recovered on the Venice 19-yard line. Two plays later, Panther running back Brandon Brooks bulled his way into the end zone from 2 yards to give Plant an 18-8 lead. … Another key Plant moment came a few minutes later when Venice quickly scored on a long touchdown. Plant answered with an 80-yard touchdown pass from Jordan McCloud to Alex Carvajal.

Key drive: Early in the second quarter, Plant appeared to find a consistent rhythm as it marched 63 yards in nine plays for a touchdown, mixing a good deal of solid runs with timely passes.

Stars of the game: McCloud showed plenty of toughness and great decision making as well. McCloud finished with 12 completions on 24 attempts for 291 yards and two touchdown throws. … Carvajal caught an 80-yard touchdown pass and ripped off another 75-yard run to set up another Plant score. … Plant running back Brandon Brooks also scored three touchdowns, on runs of 8, 5 and 2 yards.

Stats of the game: Plant's defense was aggressive, but the Panthers did give up some long strikes to the Indians, including touchdown passes of 32 and 56 yards. The Panthers also yielded 345 total yards to the Indians, but again, most of those yards came on long plays where Indians got behind Plant defenders.

Final word I: "It was exciting just like I thought it would be. When you play one of the best teams in Florida you hope for a great game like this." — Plant coach Robert Weiner

Final word II: "I thought Jordan McCloud did a fantastic job and showed a lot of toughness. He also made some great decisions tonight. Jordan is a cool customer." — Weiner on his senior quarterback, who transferred in the offseason from Sickles