Prep sports: BHSN unveils list of top 20 greatest coaches

(bhsn.com)Brandon wrestling coach Russ Cozart took the top spot in Bright House Sports Network's countdown of the 20 greatest coaches in the its seven-county viewing area. Cozart has led Brandon to 21 state titles in 31 years as a head coach, including a current run of 11 straight, and watched more than 80 of his wrestlers win state championships. The Eagles also won a record 459 straight dual meets under Cozart, a streak that merited a special produced by ESPN.
Here is the complete list, including a couple of names you may know.

1 - Russ Cozart, Brandon wrestling
2- Paul Maechtle, Southeast football
3 - Bill Castle, Lakeland football
4 - Randy Dagostino, Tampa Berkeley Prep volleyball
5 - Robert Weiner, Tampa Plant football
6 - Glenn Rutenbar, Bartow softball
7 - Lanny Faedo, Tampa Alonso baseball
8 - Nancy Kroll, Tampa Catholic girls basketball
9 - Rick Rodriguez, Largo football
10 - Joe Kinnan, Manatee football
11 - Sean Callahan, Seffner Armwood football
12 - Pop Cuesta, Tampa Jefferson baseball
13 - Terrence McGriff, Bartow boys basketball
14 - Allen Carden, Clearwater boys basketball
15 - Joe Fenlon, Tampa Prep boys basketball
16 - Bobby Diez, Chamberlain softball
17 - Tom McHugh, Pasco football
18 - John Crumbley, Tampa Jesuit/Steinbrenner baseball
19 - Eileen Givens, Countryside track and field
20 - David Mitchell, Tampa Wharton football, wrestling and track and field

Prep football: Maechtle second, Kinnan 10th on BHSN Coaching Countdown

(photo by Tiffany-Tompkins Condie)

A pair of legendary locals have made The Bright House Sports Network Coaching Countdown, a rundown of the top 20 coaches in the station's seven-county viewing area.

Southeast football coach Paul Maechtle is second, while Manatee's Joe Kinnan is 10th.

The top choice will be unveiled either Monday or Tuesday at BHSN.com.

Maechtle has been with Noles for 35 years, taking over as head coach in 1981 and becoming Southeast's athletic director in '85. He has won 265 games and two state titles, and has lead the Noles to five appearances in the state title game.

Maechtle was elected to the Florida Athletic Coaches Association's Hall of Fame in January.

No. 3 on the list is Lakeland's Bill Castle.

Kinnan, another FACA Hall-of-Famer, also began coaching in '81, though he took four years off before returning in 2005. The Hurricanes have won four state titles and 253 games under Kinnan and have made six finals trips overall, with the most recent one coming in 2009.

The judging panel consisted of BHSN sports reporters Drew Fellios and Brooke Bennett, along with producers Chris McCully and Darren Looser.

They used this criteria to come up with the list.

Prep football: Chase Sandberg back at wide receiver

(photo by Grant Jefferies)

BRADENTON - Chase Sandberg is on the move.

A defensive back last year at Manatee, Sandberg, a rising senior, lined up at wide receiver during Friday's spring game against St. Petersburg Gibbs.

And that is where he will stay, said coach Joe Kinnan, especially since Sandberg underwent surgery on his left shoulder earlier in the year.

"It's bothering him, and I think it's going to (bother him) every time he hits," Kinnan said. "On offense, he's not going to have that problem."

Sandberg, whose younger brother, Cord, is Manatee's quarterback, has some experience at receiver, catching two passes during his freshman season and 10 when he was a sophomore in 2009.

He stayed on the defensive side of the ball last year, totaling 42 tackles and three interceptions as a safety.

For now, however, he is a receiver. And Kinnan believes the switch could help Sandberg's chances of playing at the next level.

"He's got a baseball future, too," Kinnan said. "But if he ends up playing college football, he's probably a better receiver than he is a defensive back."

Prep football: Kinnan commends Florida for handling of Blakely

Mike Blakely wouldn't be heading to Auburn without the consent of the University of Florida and its head coach, Will Muschamp.
For that, Manatee coach Joe Kinnan is thankful.
A former star running back at Manatee, Blakely is enrolled at Auburn after transferring from Florida earlier this month. Muschamp helped make it possible by allowing Blakely to sign on with another school in the Southeastern Conference.
"They have a class program," Kinnan said of Florida. "Their coaching staff did what was in Mike's best interests, and Mike should be very thankful."
Blakely, who did not respond to a phone call or text message Wednesday, chose Florida over Auburn when he verbally committed in October. But he took his lone official visit last fall to Auburn.
He also took an official visit to USF earlier this week.
For more on Blakely's story, check out Thursday's edition of The Bradenton Herald and bradenton.com.

Prep football: Kinnan happy with baseball team's run

(photo by John Lembo)

FORT PIERCE - Win or lose during this weekend's state baseball semifinals and finals, Manatee will have close to its full football team intact next week.

The football Hurricanes, who also won a regional title and a spot in the final four this past fall, have spent the spring without starters Cord Sandberg (stretching in the above picture during baseball practice Thursday in Fort Pierce), Chase Sandberg and Garrett Waiters.

Cord, a sophomore, accounted for more than 3,000 yards passing and running during his first varsity season as a quarterback; Chase, a junior, is a defensive back set to enter his fourth varsity season; and Waiters is an offensive lineman.

Yet football coach Joe Kinnan sees a positive in what the three have done for the baseball team, which plays Lakeland at 5 p.m. today in a state semifinal at Digital Domian Park in Port St. Lucie.

"This has been good for them," Kinnan said. "They're continuing to learn how to win, and that's big."

Kinnan said the baseball players will be thrown right into the fray when they return to practice next week, though they won't see as much time during Friday's home game St. Petersburg Gibbs as they would have had they had been there all spring.

"We've got other guys we want to take a look at," Kinnan said. "We know what (the baseball players) can do."

Kinnan, who is also Manatee's athletic director, had a hand in hiring baseball coach Dwayne Strong in 2007. And this was why Strong was brought on board, to get Manatee back in the state championship discussion.

"Absolutely," said Kinnan, who played baseball through ninth grade while he was at Manatee. "The last time we won a state championship (in 1963), I was a senior."

Prep football: Canes' other quarterbacks to get some work

(pagemoorephoto.com)

If you're waiting to see Cord Sandberg run with a ball, check out G.T. Bray's outfield. That's where Sandberg will be for at least one more night, patrolling centerfield for a Manatee baseball team set to host Tampa King in Tuesday's Class 5A-Region 3 quarterfinal.
Sandberg, of course, has become known for his work on the football field, especially after he won All-Area Offensive Player of the Year honors last year as a sophomore.
So while their triggerman is batting leadoff, the football Hurricanes will make due without him, allowing guys such as Zach Hill and Brodrick Yancy to get a chance to play with the varsity team. Hill quarterbacked Manatee's JV team last year. Yancy, whose brother, Brett, is a varsity defensive back, was the freshman team's quarterback.
Each player went 7-1.
"They both did a great job for us," said Manatee coach Joe Kinnan. "This gives them a chance to bring them along as backups."
Running back Mike Blakely, wide receiver Quenton Bundrage and quarterback Reed Carter filled out the rest of the depth charter behind Sandberg last season. But Blakely and Bundrage were seniors, and Kinnan said Carter is focusing on baseball.
That means Hill, a sophomore, could possibly make the team as a backup while Yancy could take over Hill's spot running the JV team.

Prep football: Doubleheader heading to Hawkins Stadium

A year after playing out of state for the first time in program history, Manatee's football team is playing host to a similar event this fall.
The Hurricanes host Don Bosco Prep, a national powerhouse out of New Jersey, on Friday, Sept. 16. After that game winds down, another Jersey heavyweight, Bergen Catholic, will face either Tampa Plant or Cocoa.
Kickoff is tentatively slated for 6 p.m. for the first game and around 9:15 p.m. for the second one, said Hurricanes head coach Joe Kinnan.
"If you want to be nationally ranked, you've got to play teams outside the state," Kinnan said. "That's what it comes down to."
Halloy Boy Sports Marketing is running the event, and the plan for is for the four teams to meet again in New York City in 2012.
Manatee became acquainted with Halloy Boy last fall, when the Canes' opened the 2010 season during a four-game, one-day affair in Woodland Hills, Pa.
Kinnan said whatever money made this season will be rolled over to finance next year's doubleheader, meaning none of the teams involved will make or lose any money.
"But it will be a great experience for the kids," Kinnan said.
The Bosco Prep Ironmen went 12-0 last season - defeating Bergen Catholic to win their fifth straight state title - and have won 35 straight games. They finished the year ranked seventh in the USA Today Super 25 and sixth in the RivalsHigh top 100.
The Canes were ranked 32nd by Rivals.
Bergen Catholic went 10-2 last year, losing both games to Bosco, and finished 59th in Rivals' rankings.
Cocoa won the Class 2A state title and finished 29th last year, while Tampa Plant reached the Class 5A state final.
As for the Hurricanes, their schedule will be full of challenges. The Canes open the season in Olney, Md. against Our Lady of Good Counsel, ranked 83rd by Rivals. Then comes Riverview, Bosco and Southeast.
"We're going to have a muderous first four games," Kinnan said, adding this schedule may be the team's most difficult.
In Week 7, the Canes host Class 6A state semifinalist Cypress Bay.
"We're going to see a lot of new people on our schedule, people we haven't seen before," said Kinnan, whose Canes have reached the state semifinals in four of the past six seasons. "It's going to be exciting."