Prep football: Canes still ranked despite loss

A double-overtime loss at Our Lady of Good Counsel last week wasn't enough to knock Manatee out of this week's PowerAde Fab 50 ESPNHS rankings or the RivalsHigh 100.
The Canes fell to No. 24 on ESPN'S list after opening the regular season at No. 8. Good Counsel moved up eight spots to No. 11.
Manatee fell three spots in the RivalsHigh countdown, landing at N0. 79.
"Manatee fans may blame a bad spot for its 24-17 loss," wrote the folks at Rivals. "But the team had chances to win and didn't."
Rivals had the Hurricanes at No. 36 entering the season, but dropped them following a 20-14 win against Delray Beach American Heritage in a Kickoff Classic.
Good Counsel moved up from No. 28 to 27 on Rivals' rankings.
Manatee hosts Riverview this week.

Prep football: Manatee sixth on Powerade Fab 50

Is Manatee the sixth-best football team in the country?

ESPNRISE thinks so. The Hurricanes are ranked No.6 in the Powerade Fab 50 ESPNHS Team Rankings, which were unveiled today.

"Thirteen starters return for head coach Joe Kinnan," Manatee's capsule reads, noting the Canes' lone loss last season came to Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, which ESPNRISE annointed last year's prep national champion.

ESPN lists quarterback Cord Sandberg, linebacker Darius White and defensive back Clinton Heaven as the team's top returning starters, claiming that White and Heaven are a "formidable defensive foe."

The top-ranked team on ESPN's list? Don Bosco Prep, which heads to Bradenton on Sept. 16 to face Manatee.

The Canes were listed at No. 36 in the RivalsHigh 100 earlier this summer.

Other Florida teams making the list are Aquinas (No. 4), Seffner Armwood (No.9), Tallahassee Lincoln (No. 17), Cocoa (No. 24) and Miami Norland (No. 39).

Prep softball: Falcon's Whidden named Under Armour All-America

(photo from und.com)

Saint Stephen's alum Cassidy Whidden is one of 30 players selected for the 2011 Under Armour All-Star Game.

The roster was announced Tuesday by ESPN RISE.

The game will be played during a four-day event from July 17-20 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista.

Whidden, who also played soccer at Saint Stephen's, signed with the University of Notre Dame in December after verbally committing to the school in August.

Hurricanes hold steady, fall a bit

The voters of ESPN RISE have kept Manatee entrenched in the No. 2 on the weekly poll.
The Hurricanes were idle last week and remain seven points behind Euless, Texas and one point ahead of Grant High from Sacramento, California.
Manatee is also second in the state in Class 5A, right behind Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas. The Raiders earned six first-place votes to the Canes' four.
Rivals, however, dropped Manatee three more slots to No. 33.
The Hurricanes (3-0) host Lakewood Ranch (3-1) on Friday.

Manatee rise on ESPN, USA Today polls, dip on Maxpreps

Manatee's 56-36 on Friday over Palmetto was enough to impress ESPN RISE and USA Today - but didn't have a similar effect on the folks at Maxpreps.
The Hurricanes hopped a spot to No. 2 on ESPN RISE's Fab 50, putting them behind only Trinity out of Euless, Texas. Manatee has 243 points to 250 for Trinity, which received first-place votes from all five of the poll's panelists.
Manatee also moved up a spot in USA Today's Super 25, sitting at No.4.
Maxpreps, however, had a different opinion, bumping the Canes down two spots to No.5 on its Xcellent 25.
According to Maxpreps, Manatee's star fell a bit in part because Woodland Hills, Pa., which the Canes defeated at home in Week 1, fell to 0-2 Friday.
Manatee takes a 2-0 record into Friday's rivalry game with 2-0 Southeast.