User talk:EdkellyUSF

The South Tampa Cup is a Football Rivalry game between T. R. Robinson High School and H.B. Plant High School in South Tampa. It is one of the oldest and most contested rivalries in High School football in the State of Florida. The rivalry began almost immediately when Robinson High School was opened in 1959. Before the school was opened, there had only been Plant High School in South Tampa, and kids from Port Tampa, and SOG (South of Gandy) either went to Jefferson High School or Plant Hight School. With the creation of Robinson High School, the community became split in their rooting interest, even though for the first few years Robinson had been opened, many families had older children in Plant, and their younger children in Robinson. The first rivalry match between the two schools was in 1959, however the South Tampa Cup was not awarded until the mid-1970’s. The first game was a lockout defensive game that ended with the new Knights prevailing over the Panthers 12-7. The teams during this period were much more evenly matched in their competition, however they were also becoming more divided by class lines during this period. At the conception of this Rivalry, the Civil Rights movement had begun to break out in America. South Tampa was not that segregated prior to the Civil Rights Movement, however the majority of blacks in South Tampa resided in Port Tampa, which became Robinson’s new district. The first Knights team had Larry Smith, who went on to be an All American at the University of Florida. He led the knights during his Junior Season all the way to a State Championship game, where the Knights ultimately would lose to Coral Gables. Jim Reaves joined the Knights Roster. During Reaves years at Robinson, he would be named State player of the year his senior year in 1967. He has been named top 100 Florida High School Football Athletes in the First 100 years of football. Reaves led the Knights during his varsity seasons to victory over the Panthers. In 1966, they won 12-6 against the Panthers, and in 1967 they defeated the Panthers 21-14. Reaves would go on to play at the University of Florida and set the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) career passing record of 7,581 yards and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) career record of 56 touchdowns. In 1972, controversy was brewed when a Plant coach noticed a fan at practices consistently for a couple weeks. The person had a notebook and binoculars and was analyzing the Panthers squad. Since this all occurred a few weeks before the big rivalry game, the Panthers accused the knights of cheating by observing their practices unbeknownst to the Panthers. However, no penalty ever emerged against the Knights. The Knights won that game 14-0. In 1974 the Knights came under scrutiny again when they were accused of cheating during the rivalry game. The knights were on offense, and as they broke the huddle, a wide out runs toward the sidelines in a manner similar to one leaving the game. In response, the corner retreated back into the box to cover the snap. When the ball snapped that player was still in bounds and instead of going to the bench, he ran a route outside and scored a touchdown. The Florida High School Sports Association determined that the play was not cheating, however it was breaking rules for offense, in which a receiver must be set on or off the line prior to a snap, so that they maintain seven men on the line of scrimmage. The Knights would win this match 21-14. In 1982, the Panthers won the match on a forfeit by the Knights. The score was 28-6 Panthers, however during the match the Knights loss to many players to injury and were unable to have a full squad. In turn they forfeited to Plant. In 1989, the Knights beat the Panthers 3-0 in a defensive long game, led by Coach Bud Hodgens who also led the Knights to a playoff run the same year. After the season was over Coach Hodgens levied accusations of cheating towards Plant, saying they were using kids from out of district. The Knights made another run for the State Championship in 2012. They lost to Plant 26-24 in one of the greatest matches between the two squads. The game was determined in the final minutes, with the Knights up 24-20, Aaron Banks for Plant threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to clinch the win. The Knights would go to the State 5A semifinal, and lose to Godby of Tallahassee, 24-20. Unfortunately, in the past few years, due to the Florida High School Sports Association, and the Hillsborough High School Sports Association redistricting the schools, the Rivalry has diminished to near extinction. The Plant-Robinson game was widely considered one of the best high school football rivalries in the State, right behind the Belle Glade-Pahokee rivalry in South Florida. However, it is now a regular season game, and is not played on the final week of the season, which has always been reserved for rivalries and/or district games.