PLANTATION — The visiting Plantation Colonels scored early and often and manhandled cross-town rival South Plantation 72-0 for a 10th consecutive win in the annual Mayor’s Cup game on Friday night.
Plantation (4-1, 1-0) scored on its first six possessions to blow the game open as senior athlete Brian Lane played a big part in it as he scored four times on two TD runs and two TD receptions to give the Colonels a 50-0 halftime cushion in the District 12-3M opener for both teams.
Lane, who finished with 176 all-purpose yards, returned the opening kickoff 82 yards for a score, but it was negated by a penalty. Undaunted, the Colonels marched 55 yards in just three plays to grab an 8-0 lead. Andre Barrington had runs of 25 and 8 yards and quarterback Jorge Tabora found Lane for a 22-yard scoring toss, one of two connections the pair had for the night.
“Me and my quarterback (Tabora) had a good connection tonight,” Lane said. “Everybody did their job, and it was just a great team win.”
After having a week off following a stunning 36-6 loss to Coconut Creek, the Colonels were hitting on all cylinders and went up 34-17 in the all-time series between the two teams dating back to 1971.
“After losing to Coconut Creek we just went in and watched a lot of film and worked on everything we messed up on,” Lane added. “Today’s game, we executed well, and this sets the tone for the rest of the season. We don’t want to lose no more.”
The Colonels wasted little time in padding their lead following a fumble recovery by Joel Lettsome on the Paladins’ first play from scrimmage at their own 7-yard line. Reginald Johnson ran around the right end to make it 14-0. The Colonels capitalized on a poor snap on a punt attempt to set up Lane’s second TD of the night.
Colonels’ backup quarterback Isaiah Blackmon then connected with Cole Braddy running behind the South Plantation defense for a 73-yard scoring toss and a 28-0 lead with 5:23 left in the opening period.
Tabora hit Jaden Williams on a 63-yard scoring play to extend the margin to 34-0 and Lane scored on a 50-yard sweep as Plantation pushed the lead to 42-0. Plantation’s Taurus Damon intercepted a Sakib Muhammad pass and returned it 30 yards for the score as the Colonels made it 50-0 by halftime and forced a running clock in handing host South Plantation (3-1, 0-1) its first loss in four games.
An interception by Plantation’s Jakari Johnson early in the third set up Tabora’s third TD pass of the night and gave the Colonels the most lopsided win in the 51-year history of the series, eclipsing a 60-0 thrashing in 2021. It was just three points short of the 75-21 scoring mark they set against South Broward in 2015.
Plantation, which forced three turnovers and had nine sacks on the evening, has outscored the opposition 234-67 this season.
“We had a rough last couple of weeks after losing to Coconut Creek,” said Plantation coach Steve Davis. “It was a tough loss and we kind of got pushed around a little bit. The emphasis this week was to just execute the game plan and get that sour taste out of our mouths from losing. We have the rest of the season ahead of us and hope to make a run again this year.”