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: Southeast vaults past Manatee in Florida state poll

Southeast's 3-0 start has not gone unnoticed by the folks running the FlaVarsity Top 25 all-classification poll.

The Seminoles jumped two spots to No. 16 following Friday's win over Booker. They play Sarasota on Friday before heading to Hawkins Stadium next week to meet Manatee.

As for the Hurricanes, they fell three spots to No. 18 after losing 22-16 to Don Bosco Prep out of New Jersey. Manatee (1-2) is the only two-loss team in the top 25 thanks in part to its tough schedule: aside from Friday's close loss to the Ironmen, winners of 37 straight, the Hurricanes opened the regular season with a double-overtime loss to nationally-ranked Our Lady of Good Counsel in Olney, Md.

"Not many teams have lost to two nationally-ranked powers by a combined 13 points," the poll reads.

Manatee is off Friday.

Prep football: Noles third, Canes fourth in FloridaHSFootball.com rankings

Southeast and Manatee made the preseason top 10 in their classifications in the FloridaHSfootball.com's preseason rankings, which were unveiled today.

And the website considers the Seminoles and Hurricanes final four teams, as well.

The Noles are ranked third in Class 5A, behind Miami Norland and Belle Glades Belle Central. Southeast is ranked No. 1 in Region 3. Palmetto, which joins the Noles in District 10, is ranked fourth in Region 3.

Manatee is ranked fourth in Class 7A, looking up at Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas (No. 1), Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer (2) and Tallahassee Lincoln (3).

The Canes are picked to win Region 3, while Braden River is picked to finish ninth in the region.

Manatee's District 10 rival, Venice, is ranked eighth in the state and third in the region.

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: Noles' season-opener moved to Thursday, broadcast live on BHSN

Southeast's regular-season opener against visiting Largo has been moved to Thursday, Sept. 1 and will be featured as the Bright House Sports Network Game of the Week.

The network released its first five Games of the Week on its website Thursday night.

The game was originally scheduled for Friday, Sept. 2.

The Seminoles went 10-3 last season and advanced to the Class 3A-Region 3 final. They will compete in Class 5A-District 10 this season.

Largo won the Class 4A-District 10 title last fall and will be in Class 6A-District 7 this season.

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: Brian Poole makes Rivals100

(photo by Tiffany-Tompkins Condie)

Southeast junior defensive back Brian Poole is listed 75th on The Rivals100 2012 Prospect Ranking.

A four-star prospect, Poole has offers from over 30 schools, according to Rivals, including Auburn, Florida, Florida State and Miami.

Poole had three interceptions, four pass deflections and 40 tackles last year for the Seminoles. He also rushed for a team-best 925 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Poole will be in action Friday, May 27 when Southeast hosts Venice in a spring game.

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 softball: Canes, Seminoles move on

(logo from FHSAA.org)

Manatee and Southeast opened the softball postseason with victories Monday.

The Hurricanes rallied past Port Charlotte 4-2 in a Class 5A-District 10 quarterfinal at G.T. Bray, while the Seminoles buried Booker 26-8 in a Class 3A-District 11 quarterfinal at Southeast.

Each team will play a semifinal tonight against each tournament's No. 1 seed - the Hurricanes travel to Venice at 7 p.m., while Southeast meets Arcadia DeSoto at 5:30 p.m. at Wauchula Hardee, the tournament's host.

Listed below are Tuesday's other local softball pairings:

CLASS 4A-DISTRICT 10 QUARTERFINALS

Bayshore at Lakewood Ranch, 7 p.m.

St. Petersburg Lakewood at Palmetto, 7 p.m.

CLASS 2A-DISTRICT 11 SEMIFINALS AT SAINT STEPHEN'S

St. Petersburg Northside Christian vs. Saint Stephen's, 2 p.m.

Out-of-Door Academy vs. St. Petersburg Shorecrest Prep, 4:30 p.m.

CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 8 SEMIFINALS AT BRADENTON CHRISTIAN

Bradenton Christian vs. Seffner Christian, 4 p.m.

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 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.