Football: Tampa Bay Tech 40, Plant 14

TAMPA — Tampa Bay Tech coach Jayson Roberts admits that, so far this season, he's had a hard time nitpicking any one area of his team's performances when the Titans go back to the drawing board at the start of each week.

After Tampa Bay Tech’s latest win — a 40-14 victory on the road against Plant on Friday — Roberts might be in store for another quiet practice Monday morning.

Titan quarterback David Wright wasted no time taking control against the Panthers, tossing the first of his three passing touchdowns less than three minutes after the first whistle.

Wright threw for more than 200 yards for the third straight game.

"He's hot," Roberts said. "He's doing what we thought he would do coming off the offseason, just his maturation, his understanding of the offense, and him putting it all together."

Plant, which before Friday had only lost one other time at Dad's Stadium in the past six seasons, responded quickly to Wright's first blow, scoring on a 3-yard rushing touchdown from Hayden Reed after a Titan turnover.

Tampa Bay Tech (4-0) got back on top again quickly, scoring on a 35-yard Andrew Alhomsi field goal, and following Plant’s ensuing three-and-out with a 70-yard touchdown drive. Osmanis Aguilera, who had nearly 100 yards rushing, capped that drive with a 3-yard score.

After that, the Panthers only helped the Titans' efforts.

Plant’s next two drives ended in turnovers, and Tampa Bay Tech cashed in on both, with Wright hitting Greg Gaines III on another touchdown pass, and Aguilera reaching the end zone again on a 5-yard run.

That kind of dominance wasn't a surprise to Wright.

"We knew this was going to happen, all the way through the summer. It started in February, and we've just been improving and improving every week," he said. "Nobody on our team had Division I offers except for one person, so everybody was hungry. We've been working hard for this. We deserve it."

In the second half, Plant found a bit of an offensive spark, scoring on a 9-yard touchdown run from Tucker Gleason on its first possession after the break. But Wright wasn't finished, and he put the game all but out of reach with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Daunte Harris, his third different target of the night.

Offensive weapons abound for Wright. Titan cornerback Damarhi Pettaway had three interceptions against Plant. Throw in the confidence he's got in Alhomsi's leg, and Roberts can't seem to find one thing to complain about.

He likes it that way.

“The scary part is that we’re an exceptionally young team. Honestly, going into the season, we would say to ourselves, ‘Next year is going to be the year,’” Roberts said. “But it’s looking like it’s going to be now.”