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Sunday morning QB, playoff edition

 
LOREN ELLIOTT | Times  Plant linebacker Micah McFadden celebrates after quarterback Dane Frantzen ran for the winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter of a Class 7A region semifinal game against Lakeland at Plant High in Tampa, Fla., on Friday, Nov. 18, 2016.
LOREN ELLIOTT | Times Plant linebacker Micah McFadden celebrates after quarterback Dane Frantzen ran for the winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter of a Class 7A region semifinal game against Lakeland at Plant High in Tampa, Fla., on Friday, Nov. 18, 2016.
Published Nov. 18, 2017

Player of the Week | Michael Penix Jr., Tampa Bay Tech

Penix, a Tennessee commit, has been good all season and it seems as if he's getting even better in the playoffs. On Friday night against Palmetto in the Class 7A region semifinals, he was too much for the Tigers to handle. He accounted for five touchdowns in the Titans' 42-26 win. He threw for two scores and ran in another in the first half to help put TBT up 28-3 at halftime. He added passing and rushing touchdowns in the second half. He finished the night 11-for-20 for 160 yards and did not thrown an interception. He has only thrown four picks all season. Next up is a trip to Venice. You can bet the Indians will be spending all week trying to figure out how to slow down Penix.

Team of the Week | Plant

Friday's Class 7A region semifinal against Viera was supposed to be a test to see if the Panthers were state title game ready. The Hawks were ranked seventh overall in the state by MaxPreps, playing at home and had motivation after losing to Plant in the playoffs last year. Everything seemed to be going well for Viera. In the fourth quarter, the Hawks held an 18-15 lead, which seemed likely to hold up considering the Panthers had to drive 92 yards with 2:23 remaining. But these are the situations in which Plant usually prevails, especially in the postseason. The Panthers moved the ball and scored on Micah McFadden's 1-yard touchdown run with 8.8 seconds remaining to pull out an improbable 22-15 victory.

Coach of the Week | Cory Moore, Lakewood

Moore had a singular focus last week. "We've got to get past Jesuit," he said. "We can't think about anything else but getting past Jesuit. If we can get past Jesuit then I think we can go far, but we have to get past Jesuit first." He has not had a good history with the Tigers, as a Lakewood player or coach. But this time around, without a superstar on either side of the ball, the Spartans stifled Jesuit in a 20-7 win. The defense was outstanding, creating six turnovers and holding a decent Jesuit offense to just one touchdown. Troy'von Johnson was good as usual, scoring on a fake field goal. Lakewood has won eight straight since losing to St. Petersburg. Whatever the message is, it's getting through.

Region finals

Class 7A

No. 3 Plant (11-1) at No. 1 Lakeland (10-0): A rematch of last year's playoff game that the Panthers won 25-21 in the last minute. The biggest difference this time is the Dreadnaughts are at home.

No. 2 Tampa Bay Tech (11-1) at No. 1 Venice (11-1): The Titans are in the region final for just the second time in school history and are trying to get to the state semifinals for the first time. The Indians are in the region final for a second straight season.

Class 6A

No. 3 Ocala Vanguard (11-0) at No. 1 Armwood (12-0): The Knights are averaging nearly 40 points per game. But they are going to have a hard time scoring against a defense that has allowed just 54 points all season.

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Class 5A

No. 2 Lakewood (9-1) at No. 1 Immokalee (11-0): The Spartans have played some big road games this year, including a win at Lehigh, but this will be a tall task. Immokalee has thrown for nearly 2,000 yards and run for more than 2,000. Lakewood's defense has played well but will be tested in this one.

State semifinals

Class 3A

No. 1 Chaminade Madonna (9-2) at No. 1 Clearwater Central Catholic (11-0): The Marauders are in the state semifinals for the fifth time in the past six seasons and are trying to reach the title game for the second time in school history. The Lions were in the title game last year.

No. 2 Champagnat (7-2) at No. 1 Cambridge Christian (9-2): The Lions took down Northside Christian in this round last season. Now they have to travel to Skyway Park, where the Lancers practically live in the end zone. They average 46 points per game and have scored 113 points in two region games.