Prep football: Spring game pairings

photo by Grant Jefferies

Palmetto coach Dave Marino lead the Tigers into the Class 5A state semifinals last year, the furthest the program had gone since 1986.
Tuesday, Palmetto and the rest of the county's teams get back to work during the first day of spring practice.
Listed below are the area pairings:

THURSDAY, MAY 17

Cardinal Mooney vs. Tampa Carrollwood Day at Oscar Cooler Sports Complex

FRIDAY, MAY 18

Bradenton Christian at St. Petersburg Shorecrest Prep

St. Petersburg Keswick at Out-of-Door Academy

Imagine School of North Port vs. Saint Stephen’s at Palma Sola Park

FRIDAY, MAY 25

St. Petersburg at Bayshore

Braden River at Naples

North Port at Lakewood Ranch

St. Petersburg Gibbs at Manatee

Palmetto at Booker

THURSDAY, MAY 31

Venice at Southeast

Prep baseball: Regional pairings



photo by John Lembo

Head coach Dwayne Strong guided Manatee to its second straight district title Friday, when the Hurricanes beat Venice 7-5 in the Class 7A-District 11 championship game.
Lakewood Ranch won its first title under head coach Mike Mullen on Friday, as the Mustangs beat Seminole Osceola to win the Class 6A-District 12 final.
Bayshore lost its Class 5A-District 12 title to Dunedin.
All three teams, as well as Cardinal Mooney and Out-of-Door Academy, made next week's regional playoffs.
Listed below are the area pairings:

WEDNESDAY
CLASS 7A-REGION 3
Port St. Lucie at Manatee
CLASS 5A-REGION 3
Bayshore at Tampa Jesuit
CLASS 3A-REGION 3
Out-of-Door Academy at St. Petersburg Catholic
Clearwater Calvary Christian at Cardinal Mooney

THURSDAY
CLASS 6A-REGION 3
Tampa Sickles at Lakewood Ranch

Prep football: Kinnan through with third-party promoters

photo by Tiffany Tompkins-Condie

Joe Kinnan didn't say Manatee's football team is done playing games outside of Florida.
The Hurricanes head coach just wants to steer free of middle men.
Manatee's scheduled trip to Seattle to play Skyline High was officially nixed Wednesday after the game's sponsor, Next Level Football, pulled its funding last week.
This isn't the first time Kinnan and the Hurricanes have had difficulty with third-party promoters.
Manatee was supposed to head to New York City next fall for a rematch with New Jersey's Don Bosco Prep before troubles arose with Halloy Boy Sports Marketing, which set up last September's Manatee Memorial Hospital Suncoast Challenge, a doubleheader played at Hawkins Stadium that featured Manatee, Don Bosco Prep, Tampa Plant and New Jersey's Bergen Catholic.
"I'm weary of dealing with anyone else in the future," Kinnan said.
Manatee opened last season with a trip to Olney, Md., to play Our Lady of Good Counsel, a game that was set up by Kinnan and Good Counsel head coach, Bob Milloy, and didn't involve any third-party help.
The trip included a tour of Washington, D.C. the day after the game.
"We could have done that with Don Bosco and should have done that with Don Bosco," Kinnan said. "The trip to Good Counsel was a great experience, except for the loss."
Kinnan said he turned down an invitation to a play in a Labor Day Weekend doubleheader in Atlanta because Manatee had already scheduled a home game that weekend to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project.
The Hurricanes were supposed to play Maryland's Friendship Collegiate Academy in that game but may play Miramar, last year's runner-up in Class 8A, instead.
"All along, I wanted the Labor Day Weekend to be the Wounded Warrior thing for us," Kinnan said. "We've already talked to a lot of servicemen about it, have laid the foundation and have a lot things in play. That's going to happen."

Prep baseball: District final pairings



Photo by Grant Jefferies

 On the strength of Correlle Prime's two-hit shutout, Manatee defeated Charlotte 1-0 during Wednesday's Class 7A-District 11 semifinal at G.T. Bray and clinched a berth in Friday's final.
Listed below are the area champinship pairings involving area teams. Games are at 7 p.m. unless otherwise indiciated.
All district finalists advance to the regional tournament, which gets underway next week.

THURSDAY
CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 10
Cardinal Mooney vs. Out-of-Door Academy at Out-of-Door Academy, 7:30 p.m.
FRIDAY
CLASS 7A-DISTRICT 11
Manatee at Venice
CLASS 6A-DISTRICT 12
Seminole Osceola at Lakewood Ranch
CLASS 5A-DISTRICT 12
Bayshore at Dunedin

Prep football: Manatee/Skyline game nixed; Canes to play Miami Central

photo by Grant Jefferies

Manatee won't be travelling out of state after all.
The Hurricanes' scheduled trip to Seattle to play Skyline High has been nixed after news broke last week that the game was in doubt because its sponsor, Next Level Foobtall, pulled out after losing its airline sponsor.
The game was officially ruled dead Thursday. So Manatee will host Miami Central, last year's Class 6A state runner-up, during Week 3, according to assistant coach Chris Conboy.
Central lost the 6A state title game to Seffner Armwood.
For more on this story, check out Thursday's edition of The Bradenton Herald.

Prep basketball: Palmetto's Jordan Smith makes Class 6A all-state team



photo by Paul Videla

 Palmetto guard Jordan Smith was selected to the Class 6A all-state third team, which was presented by sourcehoops.com. Teams were chosen by selected media members across the state.
A senior, Smith averaged 20.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and shot 42 percent from the 3-point arc in helping the Tigers reach the Region 3 championship game.
He scored 1,456 points during his career at Palmetto.
Smith has received offers to play at UCF, Jacksonville and New Jersey Tech. A recent NCAA academic qualifier, Smith said he expects more offers to file in and will wait until the summer to make a decision.

Prep softball: Braden River hosts Martin County on Wednesday



photo by Paul Videla

 Braden River knows its regional opponent.
The Pirates will host Martin County, which lost the Class 7A-District 12 game to Okeechobee on Monday night, Wednesday in a regional quarterfinal.
That game was originally scheduled for Friday but was postponed because of rain and lightning.
Okeechobee hosts Sarasota on Wednesday.

Prep softball: Regional pairings

photo by Tiffany Tompkins-Condie

Huntyre Elling pitched Lakewood Ranch past Seminole Osceola during Friday's Class 6A-District 12 softball final and into a Region 3 home game Tuesday against Tampa Jefferson.
Listed below are the regional pairings for the area softball teams.
All games are at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Winners advance to Friday's semifinals.

TUESDAY
CLASS 6A-REGION 3
Tampa Jefferson at Lakewood Ranch
WEDNESDAY
CLASS 7A-REGION 3
Martin County/Okeechobee at Braden River
(Martin County and Okeechobee will play the District 12 final Monday after Friday's was postponed because of rain and lightning.)
CLASS 3A-REGION 3
St. Petersburg Northside Christian at Cardinal Mooney, 4:30 p.m.
Bradenton Christian at St. Petersburg Catholic

Prep football: Manatee/Skyline game in jeopardy

(photo by Tiffany Tompkins-Condie)

Manatee's trip this fall to Seattle to face Skyline High may be in danger.

Hurricanes coach Joe Kinnan said the game's sponsor, Next Level Football, has pulled out of the game because the company's airline sponsor, citing high oil prices, had pulled out.

"We've got to make sure it can be funded," Kinnan said of the game. "We're not going to spend $40,000 to fly out there."

Kinnan spoke with Skyline's head coach and athletic director Thursday, and Kinnan said they are hoping to try and line up another sponsor to pay the Canes' airfare. If not, Kinnan said Manatee could fill the vacant spot on its schedule with in-state powers such as Miramar or Miami Central.

For more on this story, check out Friday's edition of The Bradenton Herald or head to bradenton.com later tonight.

Prep baseball: District pairings

(photo by John Lembo) Can Scott Kelly and the Manatee Hurricanes make it back to the state final four?
Their trek back to Port St. Lucie begins next Wednesday when the Canes, the second seed in the Class 7A-District 11 tournament, meet either Charlotte or Port Charlotte in a semifinal.
Listed below are the pairings for tournaments involving area teams, with each team's seed in parentheses.
The top two finishers in each district qualify for the regional tournament, which gets underway May 2 and May 3.

CLASS 7A-DISTRICT 11
TUESDAY - QUARTERFINALS
(5) Sarasota at (4) Braden River, 7 p.m.
(6) Port Charlotte at (3) Charlotte, 7 p.m.
(1) Venice, bye
(2) Manatee, bye
WEDNESDAY - SEMIFINALS
Sarasota/Braden River at Venice, 7 p.m.
Port Charlotte/Charlotte at Manatee, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY - CHAMPIONSHIP
7 p.m. at highest remaining seed.

CLASS 6A-DISTRICT 12
TUESDAY - QUARTERFINALS
(5) St. Petersburg Dixie Hollins at (4) Palmetto, 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY - SEMIFINALS
(3) Largo at (2) Seminole Osceola, 7 p.m.
Dixie Hollins/Palmetto at (1) Lakewood Ranch, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY - CHAMPIONSHIP
7 p.m. at highest remaining seed.

CLASS 5A-DISTRICT 12
TUESDAY- QUARTERFINALS
(5) Southeast at (4) St. Petersburg Lakewood, 7 p.m.
(6) St. Petersburg Gibbs at (3) Gulfport Boca Ciega, 7 p.m
(1) Dunedin, bye
(2) Bayshore, bye
WEDNESDAY - SEMIFINALS
Southeast/Lakewood at Dunedin, 7 p.m.
Gibbs/Boca Ciega at Bayshore, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY - CHAMPIONSHIP
7 p.m. at TBA

CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 10 at OUT-OF-DOOR ACADEMY
TUESDAY - QUARTERFINALS
(3) Saint Stephen's vs. (2) Cardinal Mooney, 4:30 p.m.
(4) Bradenton Christian vs. (1) Out-of-Door Academy, 7:30 p.m.
THURSDAY - CHAMPIONSHIP
7:30 p.m. at Out-of-Door Academy

Prep softball: Ladies and gentleman, your district finalists!

(photo by Paul Videla)

Ashley Allard and the Braden River Pirates are back in a district championship game following Wednesday's 10-0 win over Venice during a Class 7A-District 11 semifinal.

They're not only the locals left mining for gold.

Listed below are the area teams playing for district championships. All the district finalists advance to the regional tournament, which begins Tuesday (Classes 2A, 4A, 6A and 8A) and Wednesday (1A, 3A, 5A, 7A).

Champions host a first-round game and runners-up will be on the road.

Seeds are in parentheses for the district finals:

CLASS 7A-DISTRICT 11

(2) Sarasota at (1) Braden River, 7 p.m. Friday.

CLASS 6A-DISTRICT 12

(2) Seminole Osceola at (1) Lakewood Ranch, 7 p.m. Friday.

CLSSS 3A-DISTRICT 10 at OUT-OF-DOOR ACADEMY

(2) Bradenton Christian vs. (1) Cardinal Mooney, 5 p.m. tonight.

Prep sports: Lakewood Ranch's Devin McDermott named to FHSAA All-Academic Team

(photo by James A. Jones Jr.) Lakewood Ranch senior Devin McDermott is one of 24 student-athletes selected for the Florida High School Athletic Association's All-Academic Team, which was unveiled Thursday.
McDermott has earned four varsity letters in track and field and cross country, and two others in soccer, and sports a grade-point average of 3.96. She is ranked sixth out of 338 students in Lakewood Ranch's senior class.
McDermott will receive a $1,000 award and a medallion from the FHSAA for making the team and will be up for the FHSAA's Scholar Athlete of the Year award, which will be awarded Monday, June 11.
In order to be eligible for the All-Academic Team, students had to have an unweighted GPA of at least 3.5, had to be a graduating senior and earn a varsity letter in at least two sports during junior or senior year.
Students were also judged on a submitted essay, community service, academic record and athletic participation.
A distance runner, McDermott will join her teammates during Friday's Class 3A-District 9 track and field meet at Seffner Armwood.

Prep softball: Pairings after Day One

(photo by Paul Videla) Taylor O'Quinn pitched Manatee past Charlotte during a Class 7A-District 11 quarterfinal game Tuesday at G.T. Bray, sending the Hurricanes to Sarasota tonight for a semifinal against Sarasota.
Listed below are the pairings involving area teams following the first day of action, and the top two finishers in each district head to the regional tournament, which gets underway next week.
Seeds are in parentheses.

CLASS 7A-DISTRICT 11
TODAY - SEMIFINALS
(3) Manatee at (2) Sarasota, 7 p.m.
(5) Venice at (1) Braden River, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY - CHAMPIONSHIP
7 p.m. at highest remaining seed.

CLASS 6A-DISTRICT 12
TODAY - SEMIFINALS
(4) St. Petersburg Dixie Hollins at (1) Lakewood Ranch, 7 p.m.
(3) Palmetto at (2) Seminole Osceola, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY - CHAMPIONSHIP
7 p.m. at highest remaining seed.

CLASS 5A-DISTRICT 12
(4) Southeast at (1) Dunedin, 7 p.m.
(3) St. Petersburg Lakewood at (2) Gulfport Boca Ciega, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY - CHAMPIONSHIP
7 p.m. at highest remaining seed.

CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 10 at OUT-OF-DOOR ACADEMY
THURSDAY - CHAMPIONSHIP
(2) Bradenton Christian vs. (1) Cardinal Mooney, 5 p.m.

Prep softball: Manatee/Charlotte game to start an hour earlier

Tuesday's Class 7A-District 11 quarterfinal between host Manatee and Charlotte will start an hour earlier.

Originally slated for 7 p.m., the game will begin 6 p.m. at G.T. Bray.

The winner heads to Sarasota, the tournament's No. 2 seed, for Wednesday's semifinal.

The Hurricanes are seeded third and the Tarpons are sixth. Manatee swept Charlotte during the regular season.

Braden River is the top seed and hosts either Port Charlotte or Venice during Wednesday's other semifinal.

Prep weightlifting: State qualifiers

(photo from FHSAA.org)

Listed below are the area weightlifters who qualified for the state meet at the Kissimmee Civic Center.

Class 1A is Friday and Class 2A will go on Saturday.

CLASS 2A

Braden River - Tyler Pittman, 154; Tyler Linde 183; Nathan Kirkman 199.

Manatee - Taren Cotton, 139.

CLASS 1A

Cardinal Mooney - Cole Curtis, 139; Anthony Caiazzo, 154; Nicolas Seed, heavyweight.

Southeast - Thomas Wilkinson, 169; Gage Takacs, 183.

Prep softball: District pairings

(photo by Paul Videla)

Courtney Mirabella and the Braden River Pirates are the No. 1 seed heading into next week's Class 7A-District 11 softball tournament.

Listed below are the pairings for tournaments involving area teams with seeds in parentheses.

The top two finishers in each district qualify for the regional tournament, which gets underway Tuesday, April 24.

The district champion hosts a first-round ame and the runner-up goes on the road.

CLASS 7A-DISTRICT 11

TUESDAY - QUARTERFINALS

(6) Charlotte at (3) Manatee, 7 p.m.

(5) Venice at (4) Port Charlotte, 7 p.m.

(1) Braden River, bye

(2) Sarasota, bye

WEDNESDAY- SEMIFINALS

Charlotte/Manatee at Sarasota, 7 p.m.

Venice/Port Charlotte at Braden River, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY - CHAMPIONSHIP

7 p.m. at highest remaining seed

CLASS 6A-DISTRICT 12

TUESDAY - QUARTERFINALS

(5) Largo at (4) St. Petersburg Dixie Hollins, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY - SEMIFINALS

Largo/Dixie Hollins at (1) Lakewood Ranch, 7 p.m.

(3) Palmetto at (2) Seminole Osceola, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY - CHAMPIONSHIP

7 p.m. at highest remaining seed

CLASS 5A-DISTRICT 12

TUESDAY- QUARTERFINALS

(5) Bayshore at (4) Southeast, 7 p.m.

(6) St. Petersburg Gibbs at (3) St. Petersburg Lakewood, 7 p.m.

(1) Dunedin, bye

(2) Gulfport Boca Ciega, bye

WEDNESDAY - SEMIFINALS

Bayshore/Southeast at Dunedin, 7 p.m.

Gibbs/Lakewood at Gulfport Boca Ciega, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY - CHAMPIONSHIP

7 p.m.

CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 10 at OUT-OF-DOOR ACADEMY

TUESDAY - SEMIFINALS

(3) Saint Stephen's vs. (2) Bradenton Christian, 3 p.m.

(1) Cardinal Mooney vs. (4) Out-of-Door Academy, 5 p.m.

THURSDAY- CHAMPIONSHIP

5 p.m. at Out-of-Door Academy

Prep track and field: District meets begin this week

(logo from fhsaa.org)

Listed below are the district meets this week involving area teams:

CLASS 2A-DISTRICT 10

Where: Tampa Spoto

When: Thursday

Local: Southeast

Regional meet: Thursday, April 19 at Chain of Lakes Park, Titusville

CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 10

Where: St. Petersburg Shorecrest Prep

When: Friday

Locals: Bradenton Christian, Cardinal Mooney, Out-of-Door Academy, Saint Stephen's

Regional meet: Thursday, April 19 at Shorecrest Prep.

Prep tennis: Regional team pairings

(photo by Grant Jefferies) M'balia Bangoura and Out-of-Door Academy's girls tennis team will open the regional tournament at home Tuesday after winning the Class 1A-District 9 title last week.
Listed below are the regional pairings. All matches are at 3 p.m., and the winners move on to Thursday's regional final.

BOYS
CLASS 3A-REGION 6
Lakewood Ranch at Seminole Osceola
CLASS 1A-REGION 5
Saint Stephen's at Fort Myers Canterbury

GIRLS
CLASS 3A-REGION 6
Largo at Lakewood Ranch
CLASS 1A-REGION 5
Fort Myers Canterbury at Out-of-Door Academy
Saint Stephen's at Community School of Naples

Prep rally: Bradenton's J.R. Murphy to begin season with Tampa Yankees

(photo by Grant Jefferies)

J.R. Murphy is picking up where he left off.

The Bradenton native and IMG graduate will begin the season with the high Single-A Tampa Yankees. The New York Yankees, Tampa's parent club, took Murphy during the second round of the 2009 draft.

Murphy, 20, a catcher, was promoted to Tampa last summer after beginning the year with the Yankees' low single-A club in Charleston. Murphy hit .259 in 23 games with Tampa before suffering a season-ending foot injury while playing the Bradenton Marauders at McKechnie Field.

Murphy participated in his first big-league camp this spring and batted .273 before he was reassigned to minor-league camp.

The Tampa Yankees head to Bradenton for a four-game series beginning July 19.

Prep football: Skyline's Max Browne commits to USC; meets Manatee next fall

(photo by maxpreps.com)

Skyline High quarterback Max Browne, ranked the No. 1 QB in the country by Rivals and Scout, has verbally committed to USC, according to The Seattle Times.

Manatee heads to Sammamish, Wa., next season to play Browne and the Spartans in September.

"As more and more offers came in, I was able to evaluate schools, talk to a bunch of coaches and meet some great ones but, at this point, I've seen enough," Browne told Mason Kelley of The Seattle Times. "It's time to pull the trigger so I can move on to Skyline football and winning another state title."

Oklahoma, Washington, and Alabama, according to Kelley.

Browne has thrown for 8,200 yards and 95 touchdowns over the last two seasons and led Skyline to the a state championship last season.