Well done, Plant High Panthers. Almost no one thought the two-time state 4A football champs would win a third state title this year when the school moved up to 5A. That’s the same rarified class as national powerhouse Lakeland High and the top-ranked team in the COUNTRY – Ft. Lauderdale’s St. Thomas Aquinas High. But in the end – at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando last Friday night – it was Plant High that was the last team standing after its 21-14 win over Aquinas-conquering Manatee High. Plant is now a bona fide national heavyweight – and ranked in the top 10 in three national prep polls, including 4th by ESPN.
And well done, Plant head coach Robert Weiner. He coaches football. He teaches English literature. He instructs in life’s lessons.
Recall what Weiner inherited in 2004. The Plant program had fallen on hard times and had won one game the year before. Plus, the grade point average was nothing to brag about. Plant has now won three state championships in four years – and last year its GPA was the county’s best.
Hardly unimportant is what happens outside the white lines and the classroom. During the season, Weiner’s players report to Dad’s Stadium on Saturdays for “Panther Pride Challenger Football.” It’s all about helping disabled kids feel special in their own “adaptive games.” During the summer, Weiner brings along a host of upcoming Panther players to the Muscular Dystrophy camp he works at as a counselor.
To be sure, that iconic Plant High water tower will soon proudly proclaim another state title, but Plant is no less a champion off the football field.