Winter Haven returns to state for 3rd straight year after beating Plant City in region final

WINTER HAVEN — Will the third time be a charm for Winter Haven — at least for Isaac Celiscar and Jamie Phillips Jr. For head coach Tyrone Woodside, he’s hoping the sixth time will be a charm as his Blue Devils are back in the Final Four.

In many ways, Friday night’s game was just a formality. The Blue Devils took control in the second quarter and despite some sloppy play in the second half, their 71-59 victory over Plant City in the Class 7A, Region 2 finals was never in doubt.

The victory send Winter Haven’s top duo of Celiscar and Jamie Phillips back to the state tournament for the third year in a row. Winter Haven lost in the semifinals two years ago and lost in the final last year.

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“The first year we were doubted because of Lakeland playing with all the transfers and Bartow,” Phillips said. “We just came out and played hard that year. The next year, we came back — we just had that grit the last two years. This year, we came back for more after losing in the state championship game.”

Qualifying for state is a feeling that never gets old.

“You’ve got to celebrate each victory,” Celiscar said. “This is our third time going, and we have to keep celebrating.”

Winter Haven took nothing for granted.

“We knew how good we are with the talent we have, we just had to keep working hard,” Phillips said. “We just had to work hard and put our pride aside.”

For players like junior Zay Mosley, it’s his first time at the RP Funding Center. Mosley was Jordan Christian’s top player the past two season when the Seahawks won the FIHSAA boys basketball state tournament and the National Association Christian Athletes National Basketball Tournament. He knows this will be a new experience.

“It means a lot to me,” Mosley said. “It means a lot for the team too. I came over here and it felt like a family. These brothers, they surrounded me and helped me get to this point.”

For Woodside, it’s an old experience. He first led Winter Haven to the state tournament in 2012 and 2013 with a squad led by DeVon Walker and Chance McSpadden. He then took the Keyshawn Bryant-Dorian James led teams to state in 2081. Celiscar and Phillips, along with Dylan James who has since graduated, led Winter Haven the past two seasons to the state tournament.

“It’s always more of a relief because you want the opportunity to try to go back and finish the job,” Woodside said.

Overall, this is Winter Haven’s ninth trip to the state tournament since Jack Deedrick’s squad won the state title in 1973, led by Otis Birdsong. Jim Morrison took Winter Haven to the state tournament in 1994, and Don Grant led Winter Haven to a pair of state runner-up finishes in 2004 and 2005.

Although Dylan James and Kjei Parker graduated, Celiscar and Phillips returned and the addition of Mosley joining talented supporting players like Tyrone Mosley, Issac Redding, Eric Dailey and Troy Boswell, the Blue Devils were favored to return.

And they didn’t let down.

The win over Plant City was Winter Haven’s 27th in a row. The Raiders initially tried to slow the game down on their first couple of possession, but Winter Haven surged to an 8-0 lead.

Although it was tied, 11-11 after the first quarter, Winter Haven went on a 15-3 run to take a double digit lead. Winter Haven led 33-19 at halftime.

Celiscar led Winter haven with eight of his 11 points in the first half.

Winter Haven played a bit sloppy in the second half as its lead fluctuated between 11 and 16 points, but the Blue Devils remained in control.

Mayo finished with 17 points, and Phillips added 16 points, followed by Mosley with 13 points, and Dailey with eight.

Winter Haven will be off next week then will play Orland Oak Ridge in the state semifinals at 3 p.m. on March 8.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Winter Haven easily handles Plant City in 7A-2 region final