2023 SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN: Plant seeks second straight district title with strong schedule for 2023

PLANT PANTHERS

District: 4M-7

2023 SCHEDULE

*  – District Contest

MILEAGE BREAKDOWN

Traveling will be easy during the season for the Panthers as all road trips will be confined inside Hillsborough County. The longest road trip for Plant will be to Plant City on the far eastern side of Hillsborough County for a district contest, a 29.4 miles jaunt. The shortest road trip will be down the street to neighborhood rival Robinson, a short distance of just 4.3 miles south on Dale Mabry Highway near MacDill Air Force Base. Only 173.8 miles of travel will be needed for Plant for the 2023 season.

To Tampa Bay Tech: 12.3 miles
To Robinson: 4.3 miles
To Strawberry Crest: 20 miles
To Plant City: 29.4 miles
To Steinbrenner: 20.9 miles

One-Way: 86.9 miles
Round-Trip: 173.8 miles

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

FloridaHSFootball.com has developed a weighted strength of schedule formula that weighs a team’s strength of schedule using data trends from the previous five seasons to measure a team’s overall strength of schedule. This includes all team records for all opponents and other weighted factors given about the teams on a schedule.

When looking at Plant’s schedule, despite it being filled with all Hillsborough County teams on the schedule, the Panthers draw in some very formidable opponents once again that will allow them to compete for a second straight district championship with five playoff teams, along with a couple of other teams that just missed the playoffs last season but finished the 2022 season with winning percentage of .500 or above.

The strongest opponents that will grace the Panthers’ schedule include Tampa Bay Tech in Week 1 and Berkeley Prep in Week 2. Both teams are two seasons removed now from playing for a state championship and have been consistent winners among teams located in Hillsborough County. Those two teams provide the most significant boost to the strength of the schedule, which we will talk about in a moment.

It should not be surprising that King does not add much to the strength of the schedule coming into the season for Plant, despite King reaching the playoffs as a district champion. King made the playoffs with just the necessary wins in a weak district to secure the championship. However, to counterbalance that thought, teams like Strawberry Crest and Alonso, which saw improvement last year, help boost the Panthers’ strength of schedule coming into the season.

Overall, when looking at the strength of schedule, our formula gives Plant a strength of schedule of .636 going into the season. That tells us that Plant will have a tough enough schedule to be competitive and playoff ready while also being able to win the games they are expected to win. That is important as the Panthers look for their second district championship in 2023.

MORE: Find all the links to all the schedule breakdowns published here

KEY DISTRICT GAME

10/27 – Alonso: As Alonso showed the most improvement of all the teams in the district, this should be the critical district game that will decide the district championship. The Panthers, who dominated the district last season, could dominate this game or see Alonso give them the biggest game of the season. This one is one to keep an eye on.

KEY NON-DISTRICT GAME

8/25 – Tampa Bay Tech: Several non-district games could be considered the key non-district game, but to open the season with Tampa Bay Tech, one of the teams that have been in the state championship hunt the last few seasons, will give the Panthers a big test to start the season. This game will tell Plant and head coach Hank Brown what direction they will need to go quickly, with Berkeley Prep looming on the schedule the following week.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Despite the centralized scheduling in Hillsborough County and the fact that the schedule consists of all teams inside Hillsborough County, we like how Plant’s schedule is situated for the 2023 season. There is a good mix of challenging teams like Tampa Bay Tech and Berkeley Prep on the schedule with winnable games like King and Strawberry Crest that gives the Panthers a way to build a winning season, but not maximize all their strength too soon that could be needed later if a deep playoff run were to develop. Overall, expect Plant to be a playoff team once again in 2023.