Armwood Football: Hawks Face Panthers at Plant High Tonight (Oct. 26)

The Armwood Hawks, following last week's 0-3 loss to Hillsborough, travel back to Tampa tonight, Oct. 26, to face the Panthers at Plant High School. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Call it the match between the titans, what others are calling "the game of the week."

• See Game of the Week (Tampa Bay Times, at TBO.com)

 

Armwood last year beat the Panthers, 21-0, before Plant went on to win the Class 8A state title. The Hawks won the state Class 6A championship game, but in June that title was stripped after a Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) ruling concerning ineligible players.

Tonight the Hawks face a Panther team that is 6-1 for the season and 2-1 in league play. Plant is ranked 277 in the state and 21 in the state, according to MaxPreps.com. The Panthers this season beat Jesuit (18-0), Jefferson (52-20), Tampa Bay Tech (21-14), Wharton (27-7), Brandon (55-0) and Alonso (22-12). Plant's only loss (3-33) was to Curtis (River Ridge, La.) in the Superdome.

Meanwhile, the Hawks (6-2 overall, 4-1 in league play) are ranked 556 in the nation and 52 in the state, according to MaxPreps.com. The Hawks this season beat Brandon, Tampa Bay Tech, Leto, Jefferson, Sickles and Strawberry Crest. Armwood lost to Hillsborough and the American Heritage (Plantation) Stallions (see chart below).

The Oct. 26 contest kicks off 7:30 p.m. in Tampa at H.B. Plant High School, 2415 South Himes Ave.

Going into tonight's game, the Hawks in 2012 have amassed 252 points, including 28 in its Sept. 7 loss to the Stallions (28-36). The Hawks shut out the Leto Falcons (49-0), the Tampa Bay Tech Titans (30-0) and the Brandon Eagles (55-0). The Hawks scored a two-quarter preseason victory (35-0) against Gibbs.

The Leto win for Sean Callahan marked his 200th victory as head coach of the Armwood High School football team. As noted in a Tampa Bay Times report, the "milestone victory comes on technical terms rather than official." The Florida High School Athletic Association in June held the program accountable for using ineligible players and then stripped the team of its 2011 Class 6A state championship. The Hawks' 2010 state runner-up status was negated as well.

According to a Forbes sports & leisure report, the school had to "send back the trophies associated with those appearances" and the FHSAA "also fine the school $12,743, and made it forfeit 26 wins."

The Hillsborough County School Board on Sept. 11 officially adopted a new policy affecting student-athletes who transfer to new schools. (See, Armwood Sanctions Lead to New Hillsborough Student-Athlete Policy.)

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ARMWOOD FOOTBALL COVERAGE:

• Armwood Football: Hawks Score a Win (35-18) at Strawberry Crest
• Hawks Score Late-Game Win (20-16) Over Sickles
• Cheerleader Defies Gravity With 25 Spread-Eagle Jumps (VIDEO)
• Top Patch Videos From Friday Night Football
• Armwood Blasts Back Against Jefferson for Conference Win
• Armwood Shuts Out Leto for Callahan's Milestone 200th Victory
• Callahan in Huddle Tells Hawks To Learn From Loss to Stallions (Video)

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ARMWOOD HAWKS 2012 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE / SCORES

Date Opponent Field Score / Time Sept. 1 Brandon Armwood Win (55-0) Sept. 7 American Heritage Armwood Loss (36-28) Sept. 14 Tampa Bay Tech TBT Win (30-0) Sept. 21 Leto Leto Win (49-0) Sept. 28 Jefferson Armwood Win (35-21) Oct. 5 Sickles Armwood Win (20-16) Oct. 12 Strawberry Crest S. Crest Win (35-18) Oct. 18 Hillsborough Hillsborough Loss (0-3) Oct. 26 Plant Plant 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2 King Armwood 7:30 p.m. Armwood in two-quarter preseason play beat Gibbs (35-0)