Prep volleyball: 3A-10 bracket set

(photo by Paul Videla)

Thanks to Tuesday's dramatic 3-2 win over host Bradenton Christian, Tori Biach and the rest of Saint Stephen's volleyball team will take the No. 1 seed into the Class 3A-District 10 tournament, which begins in less than two weeks at Cardinal Mooney.

Rather than facing either second-seeded Mooney or third-seeded BCS, both of which have defeated them this season, the Falcons will play Out-of-Door Academy in the semifinals Tuesday, Oct. 25.

A win over the Thunder, who did not win a district game this season, sends Saint Stephen's into the district final as well as the Region 3 playoffs.

"I don't go in underestamating any team," said Falcons coach Shameka Walker. "According to (ODA's) seed, it does give us a smoother entry. Still, we're going to take that game very seriously...It does smooth out just a little bit, but still, we're going to take ODA very seriously."

The Cougars defeated the Falcons on Monday to finish 4-2 in district play and clinch the second seed. BCS, which was 3-3 in district play but did beat the Falcons during the semifinals of this year's county tournament, is the No. 3 seed.

Mooney and BCS will meet in the tournament's other semifinal.

The championship match will be played 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27. The top two finishers qualify for the Region 3 tournament, which gets underway Tuesday, Nov. 1.

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 football: Falcons to play four night games at Palma Sola Park

Saint Stephen's football team is getting a taste of Friday night football this fall, having scheduled four games at Palma Sola Park.

The Falcons will face Naples First Baptist Academy (Sept. 9), Southwest Florida Christian (Sept. 16), Out-of-Door Academy (Nov. 4) and St. Petersburg Northside Christian (Nov. 11) at the park, which is located at 7915 40th Ave. W. in Bradenton.

The games at Palma Sola begin at 7 p.m.

Saint Stephen's will play one game on campus at Turner Fields on 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30 against St. Petersburg Shorecrest. That will serve as the Falcons' Homecoming game.

The Falcons played one night game in Bradenton last season when they faced Cardinal Mooney at G.T. Bray in November.

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 volleyball: Walker hired at Saint Stephen's

Saint Stephen's announced last week it has hired Shameka Walker as the school's new head volleyball coach.

Walker spent the last two seasons coaching at University Christian School in Jacksonville, and was also a graduate assistant at Arkansas Tech University.

As a player, Walker was a three-year starter at the University of North Alabama.

Walker replaces Nancy Cothron, who lead the Falcons to their first district title and regional victory last year but was relieved from her duties toward the end of the school year.

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: Saint Stephen's Roberts IMG's player of the week

(photo courtesy of IMG)

Mike Roberts, a rising senoir at Saint Stephen's, earned Player of the Week honors from the IMG Wood Bat League for the week of July 3-8.

Roberts doubled twice, drove in six runs, stole three bases and slugged .636 during the week. He also recorded a .500 on-base percentage.

Roberts, who plays for the Manatees, is batting .455 this summer.

He hit .423 with 15 RBIs, 16 runs, nine steals and 22 hits last spring with the Falcons.

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 baseball: Former MLB pitcher Sauerbeck new coach at Saint Stephen's

(baseball-almanac.com)

Saint Stephen's announced Monday that Scott Sauerbeck has been hired as the school's new varsity baseball coach. He had served as the team's pitching coach the past three years.

Drafted by the New York Mets in 1994, Sauerbeck made his big-league debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1999. He was dealt from Pittsburgh to the Boston Red Sox in the summer of 2003, and pitched for Boston during that year's American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees.

Sauerbeck spent seven seasons in the majors, posting a 20-17 record and 3.82 in 471 games, all in relief.

Aside from the Pirates and Red Sox, Sauerbeck also pitched with the Cleveland Indians and Oakland Athletics.

Prep sports: FHSAA unveils more district alingments

(fhsaa.org) The Florida High School Athletic Association released tentative alignments for tennis, track and field, wrestling and boys weightlifting Wednesday.
The alignments are for the 2011-12 and 2012-2013 school years.
Schools have until 5 p.m. Friday, May 27 to appeal their classifications.
The proposed districts are listed below with local teams in bold.

TENNIS
CLASS 4A-DISTRICT 8 - Manatee, North Port, Riverview, St. Petersburg, Seminole.
CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 12 - Bayshore, Braden River, Lakewood Ranch, Palmetto, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda Charlotte, Sarasota, Venice.
CLASS 2A-DISTRICT 11 - Southeast, Arcadia DeSoto, Booker, Cape Coral Mariner, Englewood Lemon Bay, Fort Myers Dunbar, Lehigh Acres Lehigh.
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 Catholic, St. Petersburg Northside Christian, St. Petersburg Shorecrest Prep.

TRACK AND FIELD
CLASS 4A-DISTRICT 7 - Manatee, Lithia Newsome, Plant City Durant, North Port, Sarasota Riverview, Tampa Riverview.
CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 9 - Bayshore, Braden River, Lakewood Ranch, Brandon, Dover Strawberry Crest, Tampa Chamberlain, Tampa Gaither, Tampa Leto, Tampa Sickles.
CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 11 - Palmetto, Cape Coral Island Coast, Charlotte, Estero, Fort Myers Cypress Lake, Port Charlotte, Venice.
CLASS 2A-DISTRICT 10 - Southeast, Arcadia DeSoto, Booker, Lehigh Acres Lehigh, Riverview Spoto, St. Petersburg Lakewood, Wauchula Hardee.
CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 10 - Cardinal Mooney, Out-of-Door Academy, Saint Stephen's, Fort Meade, St. Petersburg Admiral Farragut, St. Petersburg Catholic, St. Petersburg Keswick Christian, St. Petersburg Northside Christian, St. Petersburg Shorecrest Prep (girls only), Sarasota Christian.
CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 11 - Bradenton Christian, Cape Coral Oasis (boys only), Fort Myers Canterbury, Fort Myers Southwest Florida Christian, Moore Haven, Naples Community School, Naples First Baptist, Naples St. John Neumann, Naples Seacrest Country Day.

WEIGHTLIFTING (BOYS)
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, Lakeland Tenoroc, Lake Wales Vanguard, Lake Wales, Lake Placid, Wauchula Hardee.

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 football: Plenty of locals make all-state team

(logo from floridahsfootball.com)

Better late than never, right?

On Friday, Floriodahsfootball.com released the all-state football teams for the 2010 season.

Listed below are the locals who made the list.

Class 5A

MANATEE

First team

Quenton Bundrage, sr., WR

Quinton Pompey, sr., DL

Second team

Cord Sandberg, so., QB

Drakkar Wilson, sr., DL

Darius White, jr., LB

Third team

Mike Blakely, sr., RB

Nick Galati, sr., OL

Clinton Heaven, jr., DB

Nick Tankersley, sr., P

Honorable mention

Prince Matt, sr., OL

Class 3A

SOUTHEAST

First team

Desmond Blue, sr., LB

Second team

Boe Brand, sr., WR

Cameron Cox, sr., OL

Tevin Williams, sr., LB

Brian Poole, jr., DB

Class 2B

CARDINAL MOONEY

Honorable mention

Alex Nugent, sr., utility

Class 1B

BRADENTON CHRISTIAN

First team

Austin Dumas, sr., K

SAINT STEPHEN'S

First team

Adam Vining, jr., WR

Prep volleyball: Cothron out at Saint Stephen's

(photo from saintstephens.org) Nancy Cothron has not been asked back to coach volleyball or teach physical education next year at Saint Stephen's.
Cothron has been a coach and a teacher at Saint Stephen's for 16 years and led the program to its first district title in October.
For more on this story, check out Friday's edition of The Bradenton Herald.

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 track and field: Falcons girls fourth in regional meet

Saint Stephen's girls team had a fine day during Thursday's Class 1A-Region 3 meet in Naples, finishing fourth in the team standings with 39 points.
Alyssa Allen nabbed a state berth in the 200-meter dash by placing third with a time of 26.57.
The top four finishers in each event qualify for next Friday's Class 1A state meet at Showalter Field.
Allen, a senior, also qualified in the long jump by placing fourth with a jump of 16 feet, 6 1/2 inches. She also ran a leg on the Falcons' winning 1,600 relay team. Joining her on the team was Hannah Howell, Cassidy Whidden and Lauren Csubak.
Howell, a sophomore, also qualified in the 400 dash, where she placed second with a time of 1:00.73. She was also fourth in the 800 (2:21.65).
On the boys side, Out-of-Door Academy's Jeff Young was third in the 800 (2:00.76), and Brian Ragone was third in the 300 hurdles (40.93).
The Thunder's boys were 15th with 12 points.
Saint Stephen's boys, who had no state qualifiers, were 20th with seven points.
ODA's girls, who also had no qualifers, were 22nd with six points.

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.

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 football: Falcons hire Creneti

(from spchs.org)

Tod Creneti has been hired as the new football coach at St. Stephen's.
The former head coach at St. Petersburg Catholic and Melbourne Central Catholic, Creneti, a Parish resident, takes over for Stan Brown.
For more on this story, check out Friday's edition of The Bradenton Herald.