Prep football: Week 4 matchups

Bayshore running back Calvin Williams and the rest of the Bruins are one of three area public schools beginning district play this week. The Bruins host Wauchula Hardee, while Palmetto (Arcadia DeSoto) and Lakewood Ranch (Gulfport Boca Ciega) open the most important part of the schedule on the road.

Listed below are Friday's matchups. For more insight into each game, check out Friday's capsules on bradenton.com or in the print edition of The Bradenton Herald.

Wauchula Hardee (3-0, 0-0 Class 5A-District 10) at Bayshore (2-1, 0-0)

The skinny: Their losing streak against county schools may be a thing of the past, but the Bruins haven't reached the playoffs since 2005. Beating the white-hot Wildcats on Friday will be a step in the right direction, though that won't be easy: Hardee has allowed 20 points combined in three games this season.

Braden River (0-3) at Riverview (0-3)

The skinny: Someone will be off the schneid come Saturday morning, and if that someone is the Pirates, they will need to muster some offense - Braden River has scored 27 points this season and nine in the last two weeks. New Riverview coach Todd Johnson hasn't had it easy thus far - his first three regular-season opponents were Palmetto, Manatee and Venice.

Lakewood Ranch (1-2, 0-0 Class 6A-District 7) at Gulfport Boca Ciega (1-1, 0-0)

The skinny: This is a six-team district with no clear-cut favorite, so Friday would be a good time for the Mustangs to snap their modest two-game skid. They have found a viable back in McKenzie Hathaway, who is averaging 4.5 yards on 70 carries. The Pirates routed St. Petersburg Northeast last week, when they got a huge performance from lineback Elijah McClendon, who had two sacks and returned a fumble and an interception for a touchdown.

Palmetto (3-0, 0-0 Class 5A-District 10) at Arcadia DeSoto (1-2, 0-0)

The skinny: Beating a slate of bigger Sarasota County schools is nice, but what the Tigers really want is a district championship, which they haven't won since 2008. Their quest begins Friday against a Bulldogs team whose two losses have come by a combined three points.

Sarasota (1-2) at Southeast (3-0)

The skinny: Though not a district game, this is a key one for the Seminoles: they head to Manatee next week and open district play the following Friday against Arcadia DeSoto. So a strong showing against the Sailors would keep the momentum flowing for Southeast, which is currently riding a nine-game regular-season winning streak. The Sailors notched a win last week by rolling over North Port.

Largo Indian Rocks Christian (3-0, 2-0 Class 2A Urban-District 5) at Bradenton Christian (1-2, 1-1)

The skinny: We're still in September, but the Panthers can't afford to lose any more district games if they want to keep their postseason hopes intact. The surging Golden Eagles took to the air last week, when quarterback Casey Woods threw for four touchdowns against St. Petersburg Keswick.

Out-of-Door Academy (3-0, 2-0 Class 2A Urban-District 6) at Naples St. John Neumann (1-2, 1-1)

The skinny: The Thunder are rolling, and a win Friday night in Naples wouldn't just keep them ahead of the district pack, but it would put a serious crimp in the Celtics' playoff hopes. ODA needs to keep the momentum flowing - the Thunder don't play another non-district opponent until they meet Cardinal Mooney during the final week of the regular season. In other words, they have no margin for error.

Englewood Lemon Bay (2-1) at Cardinal Mooney (2-1)

The skinny: The Cougars are in a similar position as Southeast: they face a rival next week (Clearwater Central Catholic) and open district play the following week (at home against Lakeland Christian), so they need to keep their fiery start stoked. The Manta Rays and Cougars share a common opponent - both teams have already played and beat LaBelle - which is rare for non-district foes who aren't exactly neighbors.

BYE WEEK: Manatee, Saint Stephen's.

Prep football: Canes, Tigers, Noles crack Freeman's top 10

(photo by Grant Jefferies)

Another day, another ranking.

This ones comes courtesy of MaxPreps, which unveiled its Freeman football rankings earlier this week.

Three area teams made the top 10 of their respective classifications: Manatee is third in Class 7A, while Southeast is fourth and Palmetto, coached by Dave Marino, above, is ninth in Class 5A.

MaxPreps also ranked Manatee 16th overall the state, the highest of the 10 area teams.

Southeast is 31st, while Palmetto is 60th.

Listed below are the rankings for the area's other schools.

BAYSHORE - 36th in Class 5A, 209th overall.

BRADEN RIVER - 30th in Class 7A, 159th overall.

BRADENTON CHRISTIAN - 26th in Class 2A, 424th overall.

CARDINAL MOONEY - 32nd in Class 3A, 419th overall.

LAKEWOOD RANCH - 40th in Class 6A, 146th overall.

OUT-OF-DOOR ACADEMY - 15th in Class 2A, 331st overall.

SAINT STEPHEN'S - 48th in Class 2A, 526th overall.

Want to know how MaxPreps came up with these rankings?

Click here.

Prep volleyball: A primer

(fhsaa.org)

Football isn't the only sport that starts practicing Monday: golf, swimming and diving volleyball also begins working out next week, signaling the start of the 2011-12 prep sports season.

Here is a brief, nuts-and-bolts look at area volleyball, with golf and swimming and diving coming soon.

BAYSHORE

District: Class 5A-District 12

First regular season match: Aug. 30 at Bradenton Christian

BRADEN RIVER

District: Class 7A-District 11

First regular season match: Sept. 7 at Manatee

BRADENTON CHRISTIAN

District: Class 3A-District 10

First regular season match: Aug. 30 vs. Bradenton Christian

CARDINAL MOONEY

District: Class 3A-District 10

First regular season match: Aug. 29 vs. Lakewood Ranch

LAKEWOOD RANCH

District: Class 6A-District 12

MANATEE

District: Class 7A-District 11

First regular season match: Aug. 30 at Riverview

OUT-OF-DOOR ACADEMY

District: Class 3A-District 10

First regular season match: Sept. 6 vs. Bradenton Christian

PALMETTO

District: Class 6A-District 12

First regular season match: Aug. 31 at Saint Stephen's

SAINT STEPHEN'S

District: Class 3A-District 10

First regular season match: Aug. 30 vs. Southeast

SOUTHEAST

District: Class 5A-District 12

First regular season match: Aug. 29 vs. Wauchula Hardee

Prep football poll: Vote on your favorite game this season

(pagemoorephoto.com)

Football season officially gets underway in less than a month, when teams can start their preseason workouts.

So what game are you most looking forward to this year?

Is it the age-old rivalry between Southeast and Manatee, featuring Southeast's Brian Poole and Manatee's Rhoshaun Goff, pictured above? Or how about Palmetto and Southeast playing a district game?

How about the battle for East Manatee bragging rights - Lakewood Ranch and Braden River?

Check out the poll on the right side of the page and take your pick. I listed 10 games and a vote for other, just in case you don't see a game you like.

And as always, feel free to shoot me an email at jlembo@bradenton.com.

Listed below are the nominess and a little on each game:

DON BOSCO PREP (N.J.) AT MANATEE, 9/16

The Jersey-based Ironmen are ranked No. 1 in the nation by MaxPreps and have won 35 straight games.

MANATEE AT OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL (Md.), 9/2

Ranked 15th in the nation by MaxPreps, Good Counsel should challenge a Hurricanes team that plays outside the state for the second straight year.

SOUTHEAST AT MANATEE, 9/30

The perennial classic turns 30 this year. The Noles were up 24-7 at the half last year before the Canes rallied for a 31-24 win, so this year's game has plenty to live up to.

PALMETTO AT SOUTHEAST, 11/4

This neighborhood rivalry got a jolt in 2007, when the Tigers beat Southeast for the first time. It will be even bigger this year - the teams are now Class 5A-District 10 foes, and this marks the final game of district play for each team.

VENICE AT MANATEE, 10/21

The Hurricanes beat the Indians twice last year - once for the district title, and then again in the Class 5A-Region 3 semifinals. District realignments had no effect on this rivalry, as Manatee and Venice moved to Class 7A-District 10.

LAKEWOOD RANCH AT BRADEN RIVER, 9/2

It's not quite at the same level as Manatee-Southeast, but this backyard battle in East Manatee county was ratcheted up a notch last fall when the Mustangs beat the Pirates for the first time.

WAUCHULA HARDEE AT PALMETTO, 10/21

One of the state's most historic rivalries now has playoff implications - both teams compete in Class 5A-District 10.

OUT-OF-DOOR ACADEMY AT SAINT STEPHEN'S, 11/4

With Bradenton Christian in its own district, this game will decide small-school area bragging rights, as well as who takes home the Headmaster's Cup.

BAYSHORE AT PALMETTO, 10/7

Another local rivalry that means a little more now that both teams are district foes.

RIVERVIEW AT MANATEE, 9/9

It's no longer a district game. But it will be interesting watching someone other than John Sprague lead the Rams into Hawkins Stadium.

Prep sports: FHSAA releases final district alignments

The Florida High School Athletic Association announced the final district alignments Thursday for boys weightlifting, tennis, track and field and wrestling.

The alignments are listed below with local teams in bold.

BOYS WEIGHTLIFTING

CLASS 2A-DISTRICT 7 - Braden River, Lakewood Ranch, Manatee, Palmetto, Charlotte, North Port, Port Charlotte, Riverview, Sarasota, Venice.

CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 8 - Bayshore, Cardinal Mooney, Southeast, Arcadia DeSoto, Auburndale, Avon Park, Booker, Englewood Lemon Bay, Frostproof, Kissimmee Poinciana, Lake Placid, Lake Wales, Lake Wales Vanguard, Lakeland Tenoroc, Mulberry.

TENNIS

CLASS 4A-DISTRICT 8 - Manatee, North Port, Riverview, Sarasota, St. Petersburg, Seminole.

CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 12 - Bayshore, Braden River, Lakewood Ranch, Palmetto, Charlotte, Port Charlotte, Sarasota, Venice.

CLASS 2A-DISTRICT 11 - Southeast, Arcadia DeSoto, Booker, Cape Coral Mariner, Englewood Lemon Bay, Fort Myers Dunbar, Lehigh Acres.

CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 9 - Bradenton Christian, Cardinal Mooney, Out-of-Door Academy, Saint Stephen's, Clearwater Central Catholic, Largo Indian Rocks Christian, St. Petersburg Admiral Farragut, St. Petersburg Northside Christian, St. Petersburg Shorecrest Prep, St. Petersburg Canterbury, St. Petersburg Catholic.

TRACK AND FIELD

CLASS 4A-DISTRICT 7 - Manatee, Lithia Newsome, North Port, Riverview, Tampa Riverview, Valrico Bloomingdale.

CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 11 - Palmetto, Cape Coral Island Coast, Charlotte, Estero, Fort Myers Cypress Lake, Port Charlotte, Sarasota, South Fort Myers, Venice.

CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 9 - Bayshore, Braden River, Lakewood Ranch, Brandon, Dover Strawberry Crest, Gibsontown East Bay, Ruskin Lennard, Seffner Armwood.

CLASS 2A-DISTRICT 10 - Southeast, Arcadia DeSoto, Booker, Lehigh, Riverview Spoto, St. Petersburg Lakewood, Wauchula Hardee.

CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 11 - Bradenton Christian, Cape Coral Oasis (boys only), Fort Myers Canterbury, Fort Myers Evangelical Christian, Fort Myers Southwest Florida Christian, Moore Haven, Naples Community School, Naples First Baptist, Naples Seacrest Country Day, Naples St. John Neumann.

CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 10 - Cardinal Mooney, Out-of-Door Academy, Saint Stephen's, St. Petersburg Admiral Farragut, St. Petersburg Catholic, St. Petersburg Keswick Christian, St. Petersburg Northside Christian, St. Petersburg Shorecrest Prep, Sarasota Christian.

WRESTLING

CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 8 -Manatee, Largo Pinellas Park, Naples Gulf Coast, North Port, Riverview, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Northeast, Sarasota.

CLASS 2A-DISTRICT 11 -Bayshore, Braden River, Lakewood Ranch, Palmetto, Cape Coral, Cape Coral Ida Baker, Cape Coral Island Coast, Cape Coral Mariner, Charlotte, Port Charlotte, Venice.

CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 11 - Saint Stephen's, Southeast, Booker, Cape Coral Oasis, Englewood Lemon Bay, Fort Myers Dunbar, Fort Myers Gateway Charter.

Prep sports: Random thoughts

(photo by Paul Videla)

Odds and ends from an interesting and exciting week of the prep baseball and softball playoff:

- Had Venice tied Thursday's Class 5A-District 10 baseball final, the Indians never would have seen Manatee ace Correlle Prime.

Instead, Prime pitched a scorless seventh inning to preserve the Canes' 6-5 win, giving Manatee its first district title since 2002. The save came two days after Prime threw a complete game against Naples Gulf Coast in a district semifinal.

Starting pitcher Scott Kelly gave way to Garrett Waiters in the fifth, who kept Venice at bay and allowed coach Dwayne Strong to go to his top arm.

"I didn't want (Prime) to go more than one. I was trying to get to the seventh," Strong said. "The only way I was going to throw him was if we had a lead. I wasn't going to send him out there if it was a tie game."

Manatee (19-8) hosts Tampa King at 7 p.m. Tuesday in a Region 3 quarterfinal at G.T. Bray.

- Having a rare first-round bye in the regional tournament may have been a bit of detriment to Bradenton Christian's softball team.

The Panthers, who did not have to play a quarterfinal, fell 8-2 to Winter All Saints Academy in Friday's Class 1A-Region 2 semifinal.

"I think maybe not having a game Tuesday hurt us," said coach Gene Brown.

BCS won the District 8 title April 21 and should have hosted a quarterfinal Tuesday. But because District 7 had just one team - All Saints - the Panthers received an automatic bump into the semifinal.

All Saints had to beat Hernando Christian, the District 8 runner-up, to reach Friday's game.

The long layoff may have sliced into BCS' momentum, especially in the wake of the district win, which came against a Hernando team that entered the day 25-0 while Brown was in the hospital recovering from emergency surgery on an intestine.

"I would have almost rather played Tuesday," said Brown, who was back coaching Friday. "But that's the way the ball bounces."

The Panthers finished the season 13-9.

- Braden River's softball team plays for a regional championship Tuesday at Naples Barron Collier. The Pirates softball, girls soccer, girls tennis and boys tennis teams have also played for regional titles, while Tevin Bryant (weightlifting) is the only athlete to win a state title for the school, which opened in 2005.

- Who and where are the area's baseball teams playing in Tuesday's regional openers? We have it here:

CLASS 5A-REGION 3

Tampa King at Manatee

CLASS 4A-REGION 3

Lakewood Ranch at Tampa Jefferson

CLASS 3A-REGION 3

Cape Coral Island Coast at Southeast

Cardinal Mooney at Fort Myers Bishop Verot

CLASS 2A-REGION 3

Community School of Naples at Out-of-Door Academy

CLASS 1A-REGION 2

Bradenton Christian at Winter Haven All Saints' Academy

Prep baseball: Locals moving on

(logo from FHSAA.org)Bradenton Christian, Cardinal Mooney, Manatee and Southeast are playing for district championships.

Braden River, Lakewood Ranch and Palmetto are still in the hunt, as well.

Listed below are the district baseball matchups after Tuesday's results.

CLASS 5A-DISTRICT 10

Championship - Venice at Manatee, 7 p.m. Thursday.

CLASS 4A-DISTRICT 10

Semifinals - Braden River at Lakewood Ranch, 7 p.m. Wednesday; Palmetto at Seminole Osceola, 7 p.m. Wednesday.

CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 11

Championship - Cardinal Mooney at Southeast, 7 p.m, Thursday.

CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 8

Championship - Bradenton Christian at Seffner Christian, 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Prep softball: Regional pairings

(logo from FHSAA.org)Listed below are the area pairings for Tuesday's regional softball quarterfinals. Winners advance to Friday's semifinals, with sites and times to be determined.
Games begin at 7 p.m.

CLASS 4A-Region 3
Braden River at Dover Strawberry Crest
Tampa Jefferson at Lakewood Ranch
CLASS 3A-Region 3
Cardinal Mooney at LaBelle
Class 1A-Region 2
Bradenton Christian receives a bye and will face either Hernando Christian Academy or Winter Haven All Saints Academy in a semifinal Friday.

Prep baseball: Local district pairings

(logo from FHSAA.org)

Posteason baseball begins next week with the district tournaments, and the local pairings are listed below.

The top two teams in each district advance to the regional tournament, which begins Tuesday, May 3.

Seeds are in parentheses.

CLASS 5A-DISTRICT 10
Semifinals - (5)Port Charlotte/(4) Naples Gulf Coast winner at (1) Manatee, 7 p.m. Tuesday

Championship - 7 p.m. Thursday at highest seed.

CLASS 4A-DISTRICT 10

Quarterfinals - (5) St. Petersburg Lakewood at (4) Palmetto 7 p.m. Tuesday; (6) St. Petersburg Dixie Hollins at (3) Braden River, 7 p.m. Tuesday; (7) Bayshore at (2) Lakewood Ranch, 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Semifinals - Lakewood/Palmetto winner at (1) Seminole Osceola, 7 p.m. Wednesday; Braden River/Dixie Hollins winner vs. Bayshore/Lakewood Ranch winnter, 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Championship - 7 p.m. Friday at highest seed.

CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 11 AT SOUTHEAST

Semifinals - (5) Booker/(4) Arcadia DeSoto winner vs. (1) Cardinal Mooney, 4:30 p.m., Tuesday; (3) Wauchula Hardee vs. (2) Southeast, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday

Championship - 7 p.m. Thursday

CLASS 2A-DISTRICT 11 AT OUT-OF-DOOR ACADEMY

Semifinals - (3) Saint Stephen's vs. (2) Out-of-Door Academy, 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Championship - 7 p.m. Thursday.

CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 10 AT SARASOTA CHRISTIAN

Semifinals - (3) Sarasota Christian vs. (2) Manatee HEAT, 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Championship - 7 p.m. Thursday.

CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 8 AT SEFFNER CHRISTIAN

Semifinals - (3) Seffner Christian vs. (2) Bradenton Christian, 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Championship - 7 p.m. Thursday.

Prep track: Southeast to host Class 2A-District 10 meet

The Class 2A-District 10 track meet is coming to Southeast.

Orgininally scheduled for Thursday at Booker, the meet will instead be run Friday at John Kiker Memorial Stadium, said Southeast athletic director Paul Maechtle.

Cardinal Mooney will join Southeast at the meet, along with Arcadia DeSoto, Booker, Clearwater Central Catholic, Ruskin Lennard, Wauchula Hardee and St. Petersburg Catholic.

On Thursday, Out-of-Door Academy plays host to the Class 1A-District 11 meet. The Thunder, Bradenton Christian and Saint Stephen's will be joined by Sarasota Christian and a slew of schools from St. Petersburg - Admiral Farragut, Canterbury, Keswick Christian and Shorecrest Prep.

Boys weightlifting: State qualifers

Four area lifters qualified for the boys state weightlifting meet, scheduled for Friday, April 15 (Class 2A) and Saturday, April 16 (Class 1A) at the Kissimmee Civic Center.
In Class 2A, Braden River's Nathan Kirkman is seeded 10th at 219 pounds, and Manatee's Drakkar Wilson is 14th at heavyweight.
There are 18 qualifiers in each weight class, and rankings are determined by each lifter's total during the district meets.
In Class 1A, Southeast's David Pascual is 11th at 119 pounds, and Cardinal Mooney's Alex Nugent is fifth at 169 pounds.
Nugent placed first during last week's Class 1A-District 8 meet, earning him an automatic berth to state.
Kirkman, Pascual and Wilson earned at-large bids.
The top six finishers in each weight class at state earn a medal.

FCA 7-on-7 tournament set for next week

The Gulf Coast FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) Air Attack, a 7-on-7 football tournament featuring seven area teams, has been scheduled for Tuesday at the Manatee PAL fields at 202 13th Ave. E.
Pool play begins at 8 a.m. and the championship game is scheduled for 1:45.
The 10-team field will be broken into two divisions - Faith (Southeast, Bradenton Christian, Cardinal Mooney, Tampa Wharton and Palmetto) and Service (Venice, Out-of-Door Academy, Bayshore, Tampa Middleton and Braden River).
The top two teams from each division advance to the semifinals, and consolation games will be played at 1 p.m.