Prep football: Big crowd expected for Manatee-Good Counsel game

(photo by Dan Whelan at olgchs.org)

A crowd of possibly 6,000 is expected for Manatee's season-opener Friday at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Olney, Md.

"We're excited," said Good Counsel athletic director Mark Jankovitz.

Both teams are ranked nationally - the rankings vary depending on what poll you study - and the game has caught the attention of USA Today, which plans on sending a writer, Jankovitz said.

"We've had college coaches and scouts calling us about coming out," Jankovitz said, "from as far out as the West Coast."

Good Counsel has won back-to-back Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Championships and begins the season ranked first in the Washington Post's top 20.

Friday's game kicks off at 7 p.m.

Prep football: Canes take a tumble in RivalsHigh 100

The Hurricanes didn't impress the folks at Rivals during Wednesday's Kickoff Classic.

Manatee dropped from No. 36 to No. 75 in the lastest rankings of the RivalsHigh 100 after its 20-14 win over Delray Beach American Heritage, a victory which Rivals described as "incredibly sloppy."

(Canes coach Joe Kinnan also wasn't too pleased with his team's performance.)
Manatee has a chance to make up some ground Friday when the Hurricanes open the season in Maryland against Our Lady of Good Counsel, currently ranked 27th by Rivals.

Prep football: Palmetto being cautious with Kevin O'Brien

(photo by Grant Jefferies)

As much as Kevin O'Brien wants to get back into Palmetto's lineup, the Tigers' coaching staff is taking its time with the senior offensive lineman.

O'Brien, who needed season-ending surgery after breaking his leg last October against Charlotte and tweaked a knee during fall practice, won't play Friday when Palmetto opens the regular season against Riverview.

In fact, he may not play until the Tigers begin their Class 5A-District 10 schedule Sept. 23 at Arcadia DeSoto.

"We rushed him back in preseason, and he took a step backwards," Palmetto coach Dave Marino said following Friday's 33-10 win over Venice in a Kickoff Classic, which O'Brien, wearing a jersey and a pair of shorts, watched from the sideline. "We want to win the district. We're going to focus on making sure he's 100 percent and ready to go when we begin our district schedule."

O'Brien is a Division I-caliber talent and a two-year starter and when he returns, he'll be in charge of protecting quarterback Trent Miller's blindside.

"He's working real hard at his rehab. He's getting better, he's getting stronger," Marino said. "We want to make sure there's no doubt he's 100 percent ready for the long haul.

"We're going to take our time with him...No doubt, (O'Brien will be back for) that first district game. But if he progresses the way we feel he can and keeps working as hard as has been in his rehab, maybe sooner."

Dante Logan, who spent all of last year playing JV, started in O'Brien's place Friday against Venice and during the spring game against Booker.

"He's done a good job," Marino said. "He's really improved."

The line looked good Friday, when it gave Miller ample time to complete 11 of 14 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns.

"They were giving me three, four, five seconds back there," Miller said. "If they do that, and with the receivers we have, somebody's going to be open."

Prep football: MaxPreps says Hurricanes have fifth-toughest schedule

Manatee's difficult schedule has not gone unnoticed by MaxPreps, which ranked the Canes' fifth in its list of the top 10 most difficult schedules for 2011.

MaxPreps considered Our Lady of Good Counsel (Md.), Don Bosco Prep (N.J.) and Weston Cypress Bay as Manatee's most difficult opponents this year, and with good reason. Good Counsel and Don Bosco are national powerhouses, with Don Bosco ranked first in the nation by USA Today, ESPN and MaxPreps.

Cypress Bay reached the Class 6A state semifinals last year and is now in Class 8A.

Not mentioned was Manatee's list of tough local opponents, which includes Palmetto, Riverview and Southeast. And the Hurricanes also compete in Class 7A-District 10 with Venice, a postseason qualifier the last four years.

Manatee, which defeated Delray Beach American Heritage on Wednesday in a Kickoff Classic, opens the regular season Friday at Good Counsel, which is located in Olney, Md.

Prep football: Chase Sandberg's status uncertain

(photo by Grant Jefferies)

As the Manatee Hurricanes went through their pre-game warm-ups Wednesday night in preparation for the first game of the 2011 season, Chase Sandberg just sat and watched.

Decked out in a pair of shorts and his red No. 9 jersey, Sandberg sat solemnly on the bench, his left arm in a sling and his senior season of football in doubt.

Sandberg re-injured his surgically-repaired labrum last week during practice, taking him out of Wednesday's Kickoff Classic against Delray Beach American Heritage.

He will go for an MRI this week and said he doesn't expect to play next Friday, when the Hurricanes open the regular season in Olney, Md., against Our Lady of Good Counsel.

"We'll just have to wait and see," said Manatee coach Joe Kinnan.

Manatee was hoping to guard against this and put Sandberg, a defensive back last year, back at wide receiver, where he would do less hitting and catch passes thrown by his younger brother, Cord.

Sandberg also a has a baseball career to consider, and he has received offers from Florida Southern and State College of Florida. He batted .375 with 29 RBIs, five home runs and a team-high 36 runs scores last spring in helping the Hurricanes reach the state semifinals for the first time in 48 years.

In Sandberg's absence, receivers Ryan Taylor and Austin Gordon, both of whom played well in Manatee's 20-14 win Wednesday, could get more touches.

Prep football: Palmetto looking to make a statement

(photo by John Lembo)

Circumstances may have forced Palmetto to change the day of its Kickoff Classic.
To the delight of coach Dave Marino, pictured above addressing his team following Tuesday's practice, the threat of Hurricane Irene did nothing to change the Tigers' opponent.

Rather than play Friday, as originally intended, Palmetto hosts Venice in a Kickoff Classic 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Harllee Stadium. That's fine with Marino, who said there was a purpose in scheduling the Indians.

"That's all we've been preaching to the kids - we're transitioning to a big school," said Marino, a second-year head coach who guided the Tigers into the playoffs last fall. "Population wise, we're a big school. But mentally, psychologically, as a football program, we're not. We're not there yet. We've made strides, to go from 5-5 to 6-4 is progress. We're just looking to improve upon that and move in that direction."

Palmetto successfully appealed a move to Class 5A-District 10 after it was initially placed in a Class 6A district with Lakewood Ranch and a number of Polk County schools. Yet the Tigers are still smaller than Venice, a Class 7A school fresh off making four straight trips to the Class 5A playoffs.

The Indians have become one of the more solid programs in Manatee and Sarasota counties, which is why Marino put them on Palmetto's schedule. It's also why you'll find the likes of Riverview, Sarasota and Manatee among the Tigers' list of opponents as well, Marino said.

"There's no bigger schools in this area that we're not playing," Marino said. "We tried, and that was the best we can do, and it worked out pretty darn good. We're getting a lot of big schools - bigger than we are."

So while Wednesday's Classic may not mean anything in the standings, it will mean plenty to a Palmetto team looking to vault the school back into the area's upper echelon.

"I think it means a lot," said senior quarterback Trenton Miller, "because it's going to propel us into the season. We've got to go out and win."

Prep football: Manatee's Kickoff Classic moved to Wednesday

Another Kickoff Classic football game has been rescheduled.

Because of the potential ramifications of Hurricane Irene, Manatee's game with Delray Beach American Heritage has been moved to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Hawkins Stadium.

It was originally scheduled for Friday.

Palmetto's Kickoff Classic with Venice was also moved to Wednesday. The Tigers and Indians will kick off 6:30 p.m. at Harllee Stadium.