Posts on fb said they were throwing the ball up 70. I was going to go but the lightning delay was too long and the NFHS feed was down.  Had to follow through scorestream and social media. 

You're welcome.  Believe it or not, I learn some things as well.  It's one thing to have a belief or suspicion about topics.  It's totally different when there's evidence to clearly illustrate what that looks like in terms of performance.  When I stated I'll keep it brief, it truly was brief as I just gathered W/L records for WH.  What I'm working on now is gathering all the Polk County schools, then looking at their overall performance at home and away against other Polk Schools and across the state.  It's a massive undertaking when starting from scratch.  I give @LAZ @LAZINDEX @LAZL @nolebull813 @Joshua Wilson and everyone here I missed for compiling and maintaining data because it is a lot of work to say the least. Winter Haven is in a unique position to have success in both boys and girls basketball albeit the girls.  Bartow almost had a 3-peat a few years ago but to your point, Bartow and Winter Haven have been among the more successful programs on the court.  Regarding Dennison stadium, I remember playing junior high ball against Westwood in that stadium.  Very intimidating at that age and undoubtedly the largest stadium I played in while in junior high.  I remember thinking their stadium looks better than Bryant.  It certainly has the potential and I truly believe that if Blue Devil football had a little more success, Dennison stadium could easily rival Bryant stadium.  Towering stands on both sides that go from endzone to endzone. Regarding how Polk and Osceola diverged trajectories, I can only guess that Osceola capitalized on tourism opportunities that Polk didn't have access to.  We couldn't keep Cypress Gardens and Circus World (later Boardwalk & Baseball) open for those that remember, lol.  In Polk, rail and phosphate mining played a huge role in Polk County's growth. Rail goes through all 17 cities/towns and were used to move all types of good, mainly phosphate and citrus.  Although lots of rail has been pulled over the decades, Polk still have has over 300 miles of active rail lines for phosphate operations.  Both industries are still highly visible today especially around SR 60 and points south including  Mulberry, Bartow and Ft. Meade.  Portions of Lakeland now sit on reclaimed land, particularly Lakeland Highlands and East Lakeland where Coronet Mining Company use to have a facility and is where Tenoroc High School gets its name (Coronet spelled backwards).  

The current Plant head coach is the protege of the former head coach who won 4 state titles during his tenure at Plant.  That coach had a philosophy that you put the petal to the metal the entire first half.  And then, after halftime, you bring the starters back out for the first series of the second half (I'm guessing so that they got used to playing after a halftime break).  After that, if the game was in hand, and especially if the clock was running, you pull your starters, substitute freely and get playing time to all the kids who are out there every week grinding it out.  It sounds to me that the current coach is of the same philosophy.  I wasn't at the game, but I took a look at the MaxPreps boxscore.  Plant and Robinson are longtime rivals, though it has been several years since Robinson has beaten Plant.  But, as 181pl points out, the game has been competitive in the recent years.  Clearly that was not the case this year.  Plant put up 36 points in the first quarter and 28 more in the second quarter.  They scored on running plays, passing plays and punt returns.  Robinson added a passing TD of their own just before halftime.  So, the halftime score was 64-7.  In the second half, with the clock running, Plant added one TD on a punt return and a second TD after a turnover with a short pass to make the final score 78-7.  So, it appears the 'concern' being raised is with Plant throwing the ball in the second half instead of just running the ball up the middle.   Hey, I get the argument and I understand the "compassion" element.  But I've often said the worst position a high school player can be in is to be non-starting receiver.  Because, by the time you finally get in the game, the game is out of reach, the clock is running and chances are your team will be running the ball up the middle and you'll never have the chance to do what you train for all summer and every day at practice (i.e., run a route and catch a ball thrown to you).  Same for the QB3.   In this particular case, based on a couple of SM posts that I've seen, the TD in the second half was thrown by a third-string QB to a back-up WR.   There's a very good chance that this might be the only TD pass this QB ever throws in high school and the only TD catch the receiver ever catches.  Probably not a bad thing that kids who bust their butts doing 7-on-7's all summer, and who wake up early to practice all spring and fall, get the slightest taste of glory.  Again, I wasn't at the game and I'm not here to defend anyone . . . just wanted to point out that there is 'another side to the story.' 

I get that. Compassion is key. Even if the coaches have issues you don’t take it on kids who have no part in the quarrel.    Sounds like there needs to be another mercy rule. The game gets called when a team is up by 55. What do you think about that? 

Thanks for sharing your knowledge of Polk history, especially when schools opened and grew.   Over the years we haven't played Winter Haven much and probably a bit more against Auburndale that seems to share the "SAME TOWN" with them.  I know our basketball team participates in summer leagues down there that include Winter Haven and Bartow that have been very good in that sport.  Sad of their history in football while having a nice facility for their home games in Dennison Stadium with excellent seating on both sides of the field.  Funny how Polk and Osceola being adjacent counties, similar in geographical size that share farming, cattle, citrus, etc... in the past yet Polk developed about a dozen towns while Osceola only two.  Fascinating.