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 baseball: Plenty of locals on FACA all-state team

(photo from Paul Videla)

Manatee catcher Bryan Voelkl was one of a number of area baseball players named to the Florida Athletic Coaches Association's all-state teams.

Voelkl made the Class 5A team.

Lakewood Ranch's Andrew McNett, Shane Davidson, Phil Dilandro, Zach Larson and Seth McGarry made the Class 4A team. Palmetto's Granden Goetzman also made the 4A team.

Southeast's Joseph Muldoon, Michael Suchy, Cameron Cox and Andy Ramirez made the team for Class 3A.

And The Pendleton School's Brandon Bonilla and Matt Martin made the Class 2A team.

Prep sports: Lakewood Ranch wins academic team title

Lakewood Ranch won the overall academic team championship in Class 4A for the 2010-11 school year, the Florida High School Athletic Association announced Monday.

The Mustangs totaled 122 points to get past runner-up Gulf Breeze (103).

Points were awarded for high a school's total grade-point average was in each sport, with 10 points going to first place, nine points for second place, etc.

Lakewood Ranch will receive a plaque in the fall.

Prep baseball: Mustangs, Noles out; Canes-Gaither know their opponent

(logo from FHSAA.org)

Lakewood Ranch and Southeast fell during Friday's regional semifinal games, while the winner of today's game between Manatee and Tampa Gaither knows where it will be next week.

The Mustangs lost a heartbreaker, falling 9-7 to Tampa Jesuit in a 4A-Region 3 semifinal on a walk-off grand slam by Max Beerman. Jesuit scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh.

Lakewood Ranch finishes the season with a record of 24-7.

Down in Fort Myers, the Seminoles lost 7-3 to Bishop Verot in a 3A-Region 3 semifinal. Winners of their first district title in six years, the Noles end with a mark of 18-10.

Heavy rains pushed Manatee's game with Tampa Gaither to 1 p.m. today at G.T. Bray. The winner heads to Largo Pinellas Park next Friday for the Region 3 title game after the Patriots beat East Lake 2-0.

Pinellas Park is 13-14.

Prep baseball: Where they rank

(from maxpreps.com)

All three Manatee County baseball teams playing in Friday's regional semifinals moved up in MaxPreps' state baseball rankings.

Manatee is ranked the highest in the overall rankings, going from No. 30 to No. 11 following its 15-5 win over Tampa King during Tuesday's Class 5A-Region 3 quarterfinals. Ranked 84th in the nation and 4th in Class 5A by MaxPreps, the Canes host Tampa Gaither 7 p.m. Friday in a semifinal.

Not far from Manatee is Lakewood Ranch, ranked 16th overall in the state following its 3-0 win over Tampa Jefferson on Tuesday. MaxPreps ranks the Mustangs 2nd in Class 4A, a slot above Tampa Jesuit, which hosts Lakewood Ranch on Friday in a Region 3 semifinal.

The Mustangs are 116th in the national rankings.

Southeast moved into the top 100 to No. 96 in the state with Tuesday's 5-3 win over Cape Coral Island Coast. The Seminoles are 13th in the state in Class 3A, and head to Fort Myers on Friday to face Bishop Verot in a Region 3 semifinal.

Bishop Verot is ranked second in Class 3A, 11th overall in the state and 89th nationally by MaxPreps.

Prep baseball: Regional semifinal matchups

(photo by Tiffany Tompkins-Condie)

Zack Larson and the Lakewood Ranch Mustangs are one of three area baseball teams gearing up for Friday's regional semifinals.

Lakewood Ranch, behind the pitching of Seth McGarry, beat host Tampa Jefferson 3-0 during Tuesday's Class 4A-Region 3 quarterfinal. The Mustangs head to Tampa again Friday, this time to play Jesuit, which defeated Seminole Osceola on Tuesday.

Osceola beat Lakewood Ranch during last Friday's District 10 final.

In Class 5A, Manatee rolled past Tampa King, 15-5, in a Region 3 quarterfinal at G.T. Bray. The Hurricanes scored seven runs in the sixth to trigger the 10-run mercy rule.

The Canes stay home Friday to play Tampa Gaither, a 1-0 winner over Venice on Tuesday.

In Class 3A, Southeast defeated Cape Coral Island Coast 5-3. The Seminoles head south Friday to face Fort Myers Bishop Verot, which scored a 3-0 win over Cardinal Mooney.

The matchups:

CLASS 5A-REGION 3

Tampa Gaither at Manatee

CLASSS 4A-REGION 3

Lakewood Ranch at Tampa Jesuit

CLASS 3A-REGION 3

Southeast at Fort Myers Bishop Verot

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 baseball: Manatee will host Gulf Coast

Manatee, the top seed in the Class 5A-District 10 baseball tournament, finally knows its semifinal opponent.

The Hurricanes host Naples Gulf Coast at 7 p.m. tonight at G.T. Bray after the Sharks, the tournament's No. 4 seed, defeated No. 5 Port Charlotte on Monday in a game delayed roughly two hours by rain.

Gulf Coast beat the Pirates 6-0. Manatee, meanwhile, earned a bye.

Manatee defeated Gulf Coast twice this season, winning by scores of 7-4 and 7-5. Tonight's winner meets either Venice or Punta Gorda Charlotte in Thursday's final, and also clinches a berth in the regional playoffs, which get underway next week.

In other district baseball action tonight:

CLASS 4A-DISTRICT 10

Quarterfinals - St. Petersburg Lakewood at Palmetto, 7 p.m.; Bayshore at Lakewood Ranch, 7 p.m.; St. Petersburg Dixie Hollins at Braden River, 7 p.m.

CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 11 AT SOUTHEAST

Semifinals - Booker/Arcadia DeSoto vs. Cardinal Mooney, 4:30 p.m.; Wauchula Hardee vs. Southeast, 7:30 p.m.

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

Semifinals - Saint Stephen's vs. Out-of-Door Academy, 7 p.m.

CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 10 AT SARASOTA CHRISTIAN

Semifinals - Sarasota Christian vs. Manatee HEAT, 7 p.m.

CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 8 AT SEFFNER CHRISTIAN

Semifinals - Seffner Christian vs. Bradenton Christian, 1 p.m.

Prep football: Spring game matchups

(pagemoorephoto.com)

Cord Sandberg and the Manatee Hurricanes were the last locals standing last season before falling to Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas in a Class 5A state semifinal.

That's Palmetto's Quinten Bostic in pursuit of Sandberg during last fall's game at Hawkins Stadium.

The march to next season begins a week from today, when football teams are permitted to conduct their first official practice of the spring.

The games are listed below.

Friday, May 13

St. Petersburg Admiral Farragut at Braden River, 7 p.m.

Thursday, May 19

St. Petersburg Shorecrest Prep at Bradenton Christian, 7 p.m.

Friday, May 20

Tampa Berkeley Prep at Bayshore, 7:30 p.m.

Tampa Carrollwood Day School at Cardinal Mooney, 7 p.m.

Out-of-Door Academy at St. Petersburg Keswick, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, May 27

North Port at Lakewood Ranch, 7:30 p.m.

St. Petersburg Gibbs at Manatee, 7:30 p.m.

Booker at Palmetto, 7 p.m.

Venice at Southeast, 7:30 p.m.

NOTE: Saint Stephen's is not playing a spring game, and Braden River heads back to Raymond James Stadium on 10 a.m. Saturday, May 21 for the Pirate Bowl.

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 sports: Seminoles, Mustangs signing this week

Two student-athletes at Southeast and one at Lakewood Ranch will make their college choices official this week.

At Southeast, baseball player Michael Suchy is off to Florida Gulf Coast University, a Division I school in Fort Myers.

Lineman Sonjai Persaud is headed to Graceland University in Iowa, which competes in the National Association of Interscholastic Athletics.

For the Mustangs, soccer player Kristen Voight is going to the University of South Carolina Beaufort, which also plays in the NAIA.

Prep baseball and softball: Braden River, Lakewood Ranch, Manatee make BHSN polls

(logo from BHSN.com)

Braden River's softball team, along with baseball teams from Lakewood Ranch and Manatee, are listed in the latest BHSN polls.

Listed as Next Best after just missing the cut last week, the Pirates cracked the top 10 in the latest poll, which was unveiled April 7, and are ranked ninth. Braden River won a regional playoff game last year for the first time in team history.

The Mustangs are fifth for the second straight week in the baseball poll, while Manatee just missed the top 10, and is listed as Next Best.

The softball playoffs begin April 18, while the baseball postseason gets underway the week of April 25.

Prep tennis: Regional pairings

logo from FHSAA.org Here are the pairings for the regional tennis tournament, which begins Tuesday. All matches begin at 3 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Winners advance to Thursday's final.

BOYS

CLASS 3A - Winter Haven at Lakewood Ranch

CLASS 2A - Lutz Steinbrenner at Bayshore

CLASS 1A - Clearwater Central Catholic at Bradenton Christian

GIRLS

CLASS 4A - Manatee at Vero Beach

CLASS 3A - Lakeland Ranch at Lakewood

CLASS 1A - Out-of-Door Academy at St. Petersburg Shorecrest Prep; St. Petersburg Canterbury/Clearwater Central Catholic at Saint Stephen's.

Prep baseball: Final pairings for Sarasota Baseball Classic

(baseballgloves.us)

There won't be a local champion at the Sarasota Baseball Classic after Lakewood Ranch, Manatee and Palmetto fell in the semifinals Wednesday.
But there will be baseball, as the tournament wraps today.
Here are the local pairings.

ELITE BRACKET - CONSOLATION
Lakewood Ranch vs. Sarasota at Sarasota, 5 p.m.
The Pendleton School vs. Fort Myers Bishop Verot at Ed Smith Complex, field 3, 5:15 p.m.

PREMIER BRACKET - CONSOLATION
Manatee vs. Palmetto at Ed Smith Complex, field 1, 5:15 p.m.
Braden River vs. Dwyer at Buck O'Neil Baseball Complex, field 4, 5:15 p.m.
Cardinal Mooney vs. Punta Gorda Charlotte at Ed Smith Complex, field 1, 5:15 p.m.

Prep baseball: ...and the Mustangs make three.

(baseballgloves.us)

SARASOTA - Lakewood Ranch became the lastest local team to advance at the Sarasota Baseball Classic on Tuesday.
The Mustangs needed just five innings to beat Fort Myers Bishop Verot, 11-1, to qualify for the semifinals of the Elite Bracket. They will face Naples Barron Collier on Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.
Manatee and Palmetto also won Tuesday, and will play in the semifinals Wednesday of the Premier Bracket.
Manatee meets Miami Sunset and Palmetto plays Royal Palm Beach.
Not a bad showing for Manatee County, which hasn't crowned a champion at the Sarasota Baseball Classic since the Hurricanes won in 2001.
This is the tournament's 26th season and the second time it has been split into two brackets.
Check back with Prep Rally later tonight for Wednesday's updated schedule, and check out Wednesday's edition of The Bradenton Herald for stories on today's games.

Live From Lakeland: Day 1 is Done

LAKELAND - Manatee finished the first day of the state wrestling tournament with a flourish.
Ronny Whitt (103), Travis Fulk (135) and Brett Barber (145) all scored pins in the second round of the consolation bracket after Alex Doran (140) and Quinn Tibbetts (heavyweight) secured spots in Saturday's championship semifinals.
Doran and Tibbetts have already clinched medals - awarded to the top six finishers in each weight class - and Whitt, Fulk and Barber will be looking to do the same when the consolation round resumes today at 9 a.m. Each wrestler needs one more win to reach the podium.
The semifinals will immediately follow.
Lakewood Ranch's Kyle Riley-Hawkins rebounded from a first-round loss at 189 pounds to win both of his consolation matches and advance into Saturday's action.
Riley-Hawkins is looking to become Lakewood Ranch's first state medalist in five years.
I will be back at The Lakeland Center on Saturday, blogging all the day's action as it happens.