Prep football: Manatee's final seven candidates

Longtime Manatee assistant Chuck Sandberg is one of seven candidates in the running to replace Joe Kinnan as the  Hurricanes' head football coach.
Kevin Wallace, the  head coach of Bowling Green High in Kentucky, withdrew his name for consideration Monday morning, said Manatee athletic director Jason Montgomery, who said he hopes to have a decision finalized by the end of the week.
Montgomery said Wallace decided he did not want to move his family.

THE CANDIDATES
John Booth - head coach at Valrico Bloomingdale
Chad Choate - linebackers coach at Manatee
Chris Conboy - quarterbacks coach at Manatee
Jason Milgrom - co-offensive coordinator at Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas
Jim Phelan - defensive coordinator at Manatee
Chuck Sandberg - receivers coach at Manatee
Bart Sessions - recently resigned as head coach at McGill-Toolen Catholic in Alabama

Prep football: Manatee to interview two more candidates

Manatee alum John Booth and former Alabama coach Bart Sessions are being interviewed to be Manatee's new football coach.
Booth just wrapped his fourth season at Valrico Bloomingdale, where his record is 12-28. But the Bulls were 6-4 last year and have improved each season after going 0-10 under Booth in 2009.
After leaving Manatee, Booth earned All-America honors playing quarterback at MidAmerica Nazarene, a NAIA school in Kansas, before signing as a free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs and switching to wide receiver.
Booth played in NFL Europe with the Amsterdam Admirals, helping the team win World Bowl XIII in 2005 with 103 receiving yards.
He also coached wide receivers for two years at Nazarene and played in the Arena Football League with the Kansas City Brigade.
Sessions made his mark as one of the top defensive coordinators in Alabama, helping Daphne win the Class 6A state title in 2010 and Pratville to state championships in 2008 and '09.
He has been the head coach at Alabama's McGill-Toolen since 2011. Sessions is 35-5 in three seasons with the Yellowjackets.
Manatee assistants Chad Choate, Chris Conboy, Jim Phelan and Chuck Sandberg were scheduled to be interviewed, along with Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas assistant Jason Milgrom and Bowling Green (Kentucky) head coach Kevin Wallace.
Joe Kinnan announced earlier this month he is taking a medical leave of absence from Manatee for the 2014-15 school year.

Prep football: Vote for Manatee's football coach

Six candidates are being interviewed to be Manatee's new head football coach.
There are four in-house candidates - Chad Choate, Chris Conboy, Jim Phelan and Chuck Sandberg; and two outside candidates - Jason Milgrom and Kevin Wallace.
So look to the poll on the right and pick your candidate.
Jason Montgomery, Manatee's athletic director, said there are other candidates he is reviewing, so this may not be the end of the applicant pool.
But let us know who you like thus far.

Prep football: Manatee's two outside coaching candidates

A pair of outside candidates have landed interviews to fill Manatee's head coaching position - Jason Milgrom and Kevin Wallace.
Milgrom is the co-offensive coordinator at Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, where he has coached for 13 years, and graduated from the school in 1993. He was also on the the Raiders' first state championship team in 1992 and played offensive guard.
He has some familiarity with the Hurricanes: Aquinas and Manatee met in the state semifinals in 2005, '06, '09, 2010 and '12.
Wallace has been the head coach at Bowling Green High in Kentucky since 1996 and has lead the team to three consecutive Class 5A state championships. The Purples haven't lost a game since 2010 and were state runners-up in 2005, '06 and '07. Wallace's record at Bowling Green is 190-35.
Wallace also served as the head coach at Warren East High in Bowling Green from 1984-93, and was the school's athletic director for three years, as well.
Manatee assistants Chris Conboy, Chad Choate, Jim Phelan and Chuck Sandberg are also being interviewed, and athletic director Jason Montgomery said there are eight other candidates he is reviewing.
Joe Kinnan, Manatee's head coach who won 290 games and five state titles in two stints (1981-2000, 2005-2013), announced last week he was taking a medical leave of absence for the 2014-15 school year.
It is unclear if he will return after this season.

Football: Quarterback Sloan Drummonds headed to Manatee

A new quarterback is headed to Manatee
Sloan Drummonds, a rising senior, is transferring from Sebastian River, according to a story on tcpalm.com. Sharks coach Kevin Pettis told the paper of Drummonds' intention to transfer.
According to the story, Drummonds is originally from South Carolina, played at Vero Beach in 2012 and went back to South Carolina before returning last season to play for Sebastian River. Drummonds missed two games because of a shoulder injury and was intercepted eight times while completing just over 36 percent of  his attempts.
The Sharks went 2-8.
He threw a touchdown pass during Sebastian River's spring game against Treasure Coast.
Manatee's quarterback situation grew murky when Josh Meyer, expected to be back for his senior season, was arrested for on charges on lewd and lascivious battery in April. He is suspended from Manatee.
Kavious Price played quarterback during Manatee's spring game against Haines City.
Drummonds is listed at 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds on Sebastian River's roster on MaxPreps.
Manatee opens the regular season Aug. 29 in Georgia against Ware County.

Baseball: Sandberg, Suchy meet in minor-league series

Manatee's Cord Sandberg and Southeast's Michael Suchy are in the midst of a minor-league matchup.
Sandberg's Williamsport Crosscutters are hosting Suchy's Jamestown Jammers in a New York-Penn League three-game series that wraps Thursday.
Round one went to Sandberg, a third-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies last year. Sandberg homered and drove in five runs Tuesday during Williamsport's 12-5 win. He added a triple, too, to raise his average to .409 in five games with six RBIs.
Suchy, a fifth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier this month, went 0-for-4 and is hitting .231 in four games with the Jammers.
Sandberg is the more experienced of the two. Drafted out of high school, Sandberg made his pro debut last year with the Phillies' Gulf Coast Leauge team. Suchy spent the last three seasons playing college ball at Florida Gulf Coast University and is getting his first taste of pro ball.
Sandberg and Suchy will see a lot each other this year - their teams compete in the New York-Penn League's Pinckney Division and meet again July 1-3 in Jamestown.

Volleyball: Jaco signs with Barry

Braden River and State College of Florida alum Brittany Jaco has signed to play volleyball with Division II Barry University.
Jaco had 555 digs last year with the Manatees en route to landing a spot on the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 8 team and a runner-up finish in FCSAA Player of the Year balloting.
Barry has won three national championships, the last in 2004, and has made 14 NCAA Division II tournament appearances. The Buccaneers went 11-17 last year.

Baseball: Locals make All-State team

Manatee's Weston Davis, above, was one of several area players to make Florida Athletic Coaches Association's All-State Baseball Team.
Here are the area selections:

CLASS 8A
Weston Davis, Manatee
CLASS 7A
Eric Kimsey, Braden River
Colton Chupp, Lakewoood Ranch
Cameron Pearcey, Lakewood Ranch
INDEPENDENT
Logan Allen, IMG Academy
Luke Bonfield, IMG Academy
Andrew Dilacqua, IMG Academy
Taylor Lane, IMG Academy

Volleyball: Palmetto hires new coach

Palmetto High has its new volleyball coach.
Athletic director Kenny Ansbro announced that Amy Grosse, the athletic director of Buffalo Creek, will take over the Tigers' program.
Grosse is "the perfect fit for the face of Palmetto High School volleyball," Ansbro said.
Grosse graduated from USF and played volleyball at Lakewood Ranch. She takes over for Tony Cothron, who left Palmetto to coach varsity volleyball at Manatee.
"She has the knowledge and energy that our young ladies deserve on and off the court," Ansbro said. "We snagged a quality person."