Prep boys basketball: District pairings

Jarrid Rhodes and the Palmetto Tigers played well enough to earn the No.2 seed in the Class 7A-District 10 tournament, which gets underway next week along with the rest of the boys brackets.
Here are the pairings involving local teams, with each team's seed in parentheses.
The champion and runner-up out of each district advance to the regional tournaments, which begin Thursday, Feb. 13.

CLASS 8A-DISTRICT 8
SEMIFINALS - WEDNESDAY
(4) Riverview at (1) St. Petersburg, 7 p.m.
(3) Manatee at (2) Palm Harbor University, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP - FRIDAY, FEB. 7
7 p.m. at highest remaining seed

CLASS 7A-DISTRICT 10
QUARTERFINALS - MONDAY
(5) Sarasota at (4) Braden River, 7 p.m.
SEMIFINALS - WEDNESDAY
Braden River/Sarasota  at (1) North Port, 7 p.m.
(3) Lakewood Ranch at (2) Palmetto, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP - FRIDAY, FEB. 7
7 p.m. at highest remaining seed

CLASS 5A-DISTRICT 10
QUARTERFINALS - TUESDAY
(5) Gulfport Boca Ciega at (4) Southeast, 7 p.m.
SEMIFINALS - WEDNESDAY
Boca Ciega/Southeast at (1) St. Petersburg Gibbs, 7 p.m.
(3) Bayshore at (2) St. Petersburg Lakewood, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP  FRIDAY, FEB. 7
7 p.m. at highest remaining seed

CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 10 at BRADENTON CHRISTIAN
SEMIFINALS - TUESDAY
(4) Out-of-Door Academy vs. (1) Cardinal Mooney, 5 p.m.
(3) Saint Stephen's vs. (2) Bradenton Christian, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP - FRIDAY
7 p.m.

Girls basketball: District pairings

photo by Paul Videla

Bevin Mays and the Southeast Seminoles own the top seed for next week's Class 5A-District girls basketball tournament.
Listed below are the tournament pairings involving area teams with each team's seed in parentheses.
The champion and runner-up of each district advances to the regional tournament, which gets underway Thursday, Feb. 6.

CLASS 8A-DISTRICT 8
WEDNESDAY - SEMIFINALS
(4) Manatee at (1) St. Petersburg, 7 p.m.
(3) Riverview at (2) Palm Harbor, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY - CHAMPIONSHIP
7 p.m. at highest remaining seed

CLASS 7A-DISTRICT 10
MONDAY - QUARTERFINAL
(5) Braden River at (4) Palmetto, 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY - SEMIFINALS
(3) North Port at (2) Sarasota, 7 p.m.
Braden River/Palmetto at (1) Lakewood Ranch, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY - CHAMPIONSHIP
7 p.m. at highest remaining seed

CLASS 5A-DISTRICT 10
MONDAY - QUARTERFINAL
(5) Bayshore at (4) Gulfport Boca Ciega, 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY - SEMIFINALS
(3) St. Petersburg Lakewood at (2) St. Petersburg Gibbs, 7 p.m.
Bayshore/Gulfport Boca Ciega at (1) Southeast, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY - CHAMPIONSHIP
7 p.m. at highest remaining seed

CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 10 at CARDINAL MOONEY
TUESDAY - QUARTERFINAL
(5) Saint Stephen's vs. (4) Imagine School of North Port, 7 p.m.
THURSDAY - SEMIFINALS
(3) Bradenton Christian vs. (2) Out-of-Door Academy, 5 p.m.
Saint Stephen's/Imagine School of North Port vs. (1) Cardinal Mooney, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY - CHAMPIONSHIP
7 p.m.

Prep football: Southeast hires John Warren

John Warren has been named Southeast's new football coach, according to principal Jim Pauley.
Warren was an assistant at Southeast in 2012 under Paul Maechtle and spent last season as the head coach at Massac County High in Metropolis, Ill, where he went 3-6.
Warren coached the Seminoles' wide receivers and quarterbacks. He was one of four finalists for the head position, with the other three being Matt Kitchie, Brett Timmons and Brian McKnight.
"I enjoyed working with him," said Maechtle, who didn't have a hand in choosing a successor, said of Warren. "We were disappointed to lose him because at the time, we needed a good receivers coach.
"They were four very good candidates, and it must have been a difficult decision for our administration. But I think they picked a good man and I wish him the best of luck."
 Kitchie, the head coach at Tampa Leto, and Timmons, the head coach and athletic director at Out-of-Door Academy, played and coached under Maechtle at Southeast; McKnight has been on Southeast's coaching staff since 1992 and has been the defensive coordinator since 2007.
Maechtle was Southeast's head coach for 33 years and retired after the 2013 season. He will stay on as the school's athletic director until April.
For more on this story, check out Wednesay's edition of The Bradenton Herald.

Girls soccer: Quarterfinal pairings

photo by Timothy R. Wolfrum

Manatee girl's soccer team celebrated its first district title in 15 years last week and now sets its sights on the regional playoffs, which get underway Thursday.
Here are the pairings involving area teams. All games are at 7 p.m.
Winners advance to next Tuesday's regional semifinals.

CLASS 5A-REGION 2
Tampa Plant at Manatee
CLASS 4A-REGION 3
Naples Gulf Coast at Lakewood Ranch
Braden River at Fort Myers Riverdale
CLASS 3A-REGION 3
Southeast at Largo
CLASS 2A-REGION 3
Cape Coral Oasis at Cardinal Mooney
CLASS 1A-REGION 2
Fort Myers Evangelical at Saint Stephen's

Prep football: Southeast head coaching job down to four finalists

The field to replace Paul Maechtle as Southeast's head football coach has been narrowed down to four - three local candidates and another whose name should be familiar to area football fans.

MATT KITCHIE - A Southeast alum won won a state title as a player, Kitchie coached wide receivers and quarterbacks under Maechtle before taking over Saint Stephen's football rebirth in 2006. Kitchie left the Falcons in 2009 to take over head coaching duties at Land O'Lakes, but there was a parting of the ways there after an off-the-field incident involving one of his players. He has been the head coach at Tampa Leto since 2011, where he also teaches. Kitchie earned a master's degree from Eastern Kentucky and was an assistant coach and graduate assistant there in 2005-06.

BRIAN MCKNIGHT - McKnight has been on Southeast's coaching staff since 1992 and has been the defensive coordinator since 2007 and linebackers coach since 2010. McKnight was the assistant offensive line coach from 1992-98 before becoming the defensive line coach in '99. He also coached track and weightlifting at Southeast, and has been a teacher there since '99.

BRETT TIMMONS - Another Southeast graduate, Timmons has been Out-of-Door Academy's head coach since the school started a football program in 2006. He is also the school's athletic director. A member of the Noles' back-to-back state championship teams in 1993 and '94, Timmons continued his playing career at Tulane and was a member of its 1998 undefeated team. Timmons was a training camp intern with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins, and earned a NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship with the Indianapolis Colts in 2004. Timmons also served as a graduate assistant at Clemson and was Palmetto's defensive coordinator in 2005.

JOHN WARREN - Warren is looking to return to Southeast's program after he became the head coach at Massac County High in Metropolis, Ill., last season. Warren coached the quarterbacks and receivers with the Seminoles in 2012, and also served as an assistant baseball coach. Warren was also an assistant varsity coach at Cypruss Christian in Texas, where he was also the head middle school coach, from 2009-12, and was also an assistant at Fairfield Community High in Illinois in 2006.

Prep wrestling: County tournament set for Wednesday

photo by Paul Videla

Manatee's Caleb Rudisill was named the most outstanding wrestler during last year's county tournament, which the Hurricanes won for the third straight year and 16th time in 17 tries.
The Canes will look to lengthen that streak while the county's other teams will try to end it during this year's tournament, which gets underway 4 p.m. at Braden River.
Rudisill is ranked No.1 in Class 3A by Scout. com at 113 pounds and teammate Jesse Fulk is ranked second at 160 pounds, while Dakoda Dossey is ranked fourth at 170.
Palmetto, which won the county title four years ago is led by Anthony Viscomi, ranked ninth at 126 and Robert McLachlan, fifth at 195 in Class 2A. Lakewood Ranch's Hunter Reed is 10th at 106 pounds in 2A, Dylan Cameron is eighth at 126 and Ty McLeod is seventh at 170.
In Class 1A, Bayshore's Anthony Slack is slotted seventh at 106; Southeast's Ricky Alomodovar is fifth at 160, Gage Takacs is third at 220 and Kane Takacs is third at heavyweight.
The county championships are a dual-meet tournament.

Boys soccer: District tourmament pairings

photo  by Timothy R. Wolfrum

Palmetto and Saint Stephen's are the two area teams that earned top seeds for next week's boys district soccer tournaments.
Listed below are the pairings featuring area schools with each team's seed in parentheses.
The champion and runner-up from each district qualify for the regional tournaments that get underway Thursday, Jan. 30.


CLASS 5A-DISTRICT 8
SEMIFINALS - WEDNESDAY, JAN. 22
(3) Manatee at (2) St. Petersburg, 7 p.m.
(4) Largo Pinellas Park at (1) Riverview, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP - FRIDAY, JAN. 24
7 p.m. at highest remaining seed

CLASS 4A-DISTRICT 10
QUARTERFINALS - TUESDAY, JAN. 21
(1) Palmetto, bye
(2) St. Petersburg Northeast, bye
(5) Osceola at (4) Clearwater, 7 p.m.
(6) St. Peterburg Dixie Hollins at (3) Seminole, 7 p.m.
SEMIFINALS - WEDNESDAY, JAN. 22
Clearwater/Osceola at Palmetto, 7 p.m.
Seminole/Dixie Hollins at St. Petersburg Northeast, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP - FRIDAY, JAN. 24
 7 p,m. at highest remaining seed

CLASS 4A-DISTRICT 11
QUARTERFINALS - MONDAY, JAN. 20
(1) Venice, bye
(5) Port Charlotte at (4) Lakewood Ranch, 7 p.m.
(6) Sarasota at (3) Braden River, 7 p.m.
(7) Punta Gorda Charlotte at (2) North Port, 7 p.m.
SEMIFINALS - TUESDAY, JAN. 21
Lakewood Ranch/Port Charlotte at Venice, 7 p.m.
Braden River/Sarasota vs. Charlotte/North Port, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP - THURSDAY, JAN. 23
 7 p.m. at highest remaining seed
NOTE: Braden River and Sarasota play a make-up game Thursday. If the Pirates win, they become the second seed and North Port drops to No.3; if they lose, the seeding stays as is.

CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 9 at TAMPA JESUIT
QUARTERFINALS - TUESDAY, JAN. 21
(1) Tampa Jesuit, bye
(7) Tampa Middleton vs. (2) Tampa Robinson, 4 p.m.
(5) Tampa Jefferson vs. (4) Riverview Spoto, 6 p.m.
(6) Bayshore vs. (3) Southeast, 8 p.m.
SEMIFINALS - WEDNESDAY, JAN. 22
Middleton/Robinson vs. Southeast/Bayshore, 6 p.m.
Jesuit vs. Jefferson/Spoto, 8 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP - FRIDAY, JAN. 24
7 p.m.

CLASS 2A-DISTRICT 11 at BOOKER
SEMIFINALS - TUESDAY, JAN. 21
(3) Booker vs. (2) Cardinal Mooney, 5 p.m.
(4) Sarasota Military Academy vs. (1) Arcadia DeSoto, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP - THURSDAY, JAN. 23
6 p.m.

CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 7 at SAINT STEPHEN'S
QUARTERFINALS - TUESDAY, JAN. 21
(5) Imagine School of North Port vs. (4) Bradenton Christian, 6 p.m.
SEMIFINALS - THURSDAY, JAN. 23
(3) Out-of-Door Academy vs. (2) Sarasota Christian, 5 p.m.
Imagine School of North Port/BCS vs. (1) Saint Stephen's, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP - FRIDAY, JAN. 24
7 p.m.

Prep baseball: Four area teams competing in Sarasota Baseball Classic

Four area teams are playing this year's Sarasota Baseball Classic, which runs from March 24-27 in three separate sites in Sarasota County.
The tournament has been played since 1986. The last Bradenton-area team to win a championship at the SBC was Manatee in 2001.
Listed below are the first-round pairings involving area teams. The championship game will be played Thursday, March 27.

First round - Monday, March 24
Manatee vs. Viera, 4 p.m. at Sarasota
Cardinal Mooney vs. Taravella, 4:30 p.m. at Buck O'Neil Baseball Complex
Lakewood Ranch vs. Flanagan, 4:30 p.m. at Buck O'Neil Baseball Complex
Palmetto vs. Florida Christian, 4 p.m. at Twin Lakes Park (Riverview's home field)

Prep girls soccer: District tournaments

Lakewood Ranch's and Manatee's girls soccer teams earned top seeds for next week's district tournaments.

The winter postseason is upon us as the girls district tournaments get underway late this week and run through next week.
Listed below are the brackets featuring area teams, with the seeds in parentheses. The top two finishers in each district advance to the regional tournaments, which get underway Thursday, Jan. 23.

CLASS 5A-DISTRICT 8
SEMIFINALS - WEDNESDAY, JAN. 15
(4) Largo Pinellas Park at (1) Manatee, 7 p.m.
(3) Riverview at (2) St. Petersburg, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP - FRIDAY, JAN. 17
At highest remaining seed, 7 p.m.

CLASS 4A-DISTRICT 11
QUARTERFINALS - MONDAY, JAN. 13
(7) Sarasota at (2) Braden River, 7 p.m. 
(6) Charlotte at (3) Venice, 7 p.m.
(5) Port Charlotte at (4) North Port, 7 p.m.
(1) Lakewood Ranch, bye
SEMIFINALS - WEDNESDAY, JAN. 15
Charlotte/Venice vs. Sarasota/Braden River, 7 p.m.
North Port/Port Charlotte at Lakewood Ranch, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP - FRIDAY, JAN. 17
At highest remaining seed, 7 p.m.

CLASS 4A-DISTRICT 10
QUARTERFINALS - FRIDAY, JAN. 10
(6) St. Petersburg Dixie Hollins at (3) St. Petersburg Northeast, 7 p.m.
(5) Palmetto at (4) Clearwater, 7 p.m.
(1) Seminole, bye
(2) Osceola, bye
SEMIFINALS - THURSDAY, JAN. 16
Clearwater/Palmetto at Seminole, 7 p.m.
Northeast/Dixie Hollins at Osceola, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP - FRIDAY, JAN. 17
At highest remaining seed, 7 p.m. 

CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 9
QUARTERFINALS - SATURDAY, JAN. 11
(5) Bayshore at (4) Tampa Middleton, 10 a.m.
(6) Riverview Spoto at (3) Tampa Jefferson, 10 a.m.
SEMIFINALS - FRIDAY, JAN. 17
Bayshore/Middleton at (1) Tampa Robinson, 7 p.m.
Jefferson/Spoto at (2) Southeast, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP - SATURDAY, JAN. 18
At highest remaining seed, 10 a.m.

CLASS 2A-DISTRICT 11 at CARDINAL MOONEY
SEMIFINALS - TUESDAY, JAN. 14
(3) Arcadia DeSoto vs. (2) Sarasota Military Academy, 5 p.m.
(4) Booker vs. (1) Cardinal Mooney, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP - THURSDAY, JAN. 16
7 p.m.

CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 7 at SAINT STEPHEN'S
QUARTERFINALS - TUESDAY, JAN. 14
(5) Imagine School of North Port vs. (4) Bradenton Christian, 6 p.m.
SEMIFINALS - THURSDAY, JAN. 16
(2) Out-of-Door Academy vs. (3) Sarasota Christian, 5 p.m.
(1) Saint Stephen's vs. Imagine School/Bradenton Christian, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP - FRIDAY, JAN. 17
 7 p.m.
 

Prep football: Associated Press announces All-State teams

Palmetto's Josh Hicks is one of a number of Bradenton-area football players named to the Associated Press' All-State teams.

The Associated Press released its All-State football teams Monday morning. The teams were chosen by newspaper reporters and editors from around the state.
Local selections are listed below.

CLASS 8A
FIRST TEAM - Demarcus Christmas, DL, Manatee
SECOND TEAM - Trevon Walters, RB, Manatee; Michael Galati, OL, Manatee
THIRD TEAM - Kyle Mauk, OL, Manatee
HONORABLE MENTION - Greg Reaves, LB, Manatee

CLASS 7A
SECOND TEAM - Josh Hicks, RB, Palmetto

CLASS 5A
HONORABLE MENTION - Courtney Allen, RB, Southeast

CLASS 3A
FIRST TEAM - Wyatt Knopfke, OL, Cardinal Mooney; Brian Kirshe, P, Out-of-Door Academy
SECOND TEAM - Demardre Patterson, RB, Cardinal Mooney; Austin Leach, utility, Cardinal Mooney