Prep football: IMG's Scarbrough picked for UnderArmour game

photo by Grant Jefferies

IMG running back Bo Scarbrough has been selected for the 2014 UnderArmour All-America high school football game.
Scarbrough, who has committed to Alabama and leads the area in rushing (626 yards) will be presented with his UnderArmour jersey 1:30 p.m. at IMG's football stadium.
The game will be played 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4 at Tropicana Field.

Prep football:A great battle - Manatee's stout run defense vs. Southeast's Courtney Allen

photo by Paul Videla

Southeast is considered the underdog in Friday's game with archrival Manatee and hasn't defeated the Hurricanes since 2006.
But Friday's game at Hawkins Stadium will feature a great game within a game - Southeast running back Courtney Allen against Manatee's stout rushing defense.
Allen has already established the Seminoles' all-time career rushing record and has totaled 562 yards, second in the area to IMG's Alabama-bound Bo Scarbrough and tops among public-school backs.
But Manatee has made a habit this season of stopping the run, allowing an area-low 79 yards per week on the ground.
The Hurricanes limited Jonathan Haden of Friendship Collegiate Academy to just 35 yards in Week 3. Haden has committed to Arizona.
A week after he ran for 227 yards against Palmetto, Venice's Terry Polk had just 62 yards on 21 yards against Manatee during Week 2.
And Justin Austin, who scored three times against Class 7A state runner-up Tallahassee Lincoln, never got going last Friday against the Canes, moving backwards (minus 2 yards) on eight attempts.
Improved linebacking play has helped - Greg Reaves, a defensive back last season, is now a middle linebacker who has 24 tackles and three quarterback hurries. And the defense has forced seven turnovers.
Allen has been as good or maybe even better than advertised this year, a tough runner who leads the area in carries (68) and is leading an offense in the midst of making a transition at quarterback.
In order for the Seminoles to have a chance, Allen needs to push the ball forward. Manatee has the area's best offense, averaging over 441 yards per game, while Southeast is allowing 345 yards per game, ninth in the area.
Southeast's best defense? Keep Manatee's offense on the sideline. And the best way to do that is for Allen to do what no back has done this season - move the ball against the Hurricanes.

Prep volleyball: Info on county tournament

photo by Paul Videla

Manatee will look to defend its county championship this weekend at Lakewood Ranch, where pool play gets underway 4:30 p.m. Friday.
Action resumes 9 a.m. Saturday with the championship match slated for 1:30 p.m.
Listed below are the pool assignments.

POOL A: Lakewood Ranch, Saint Stephen's, Bayshore, Southeast
POOL B: Manatee, Braden River, Palmetto, Southeast

The top two teams from each pool meet in the championship semifinals 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. Saturday, and there will also be games determining the third-, fifth-, and seventh-place finishers.
The Hurricanes won the title last year, beating the Mustangs in the finals.

Prep football: Manatee cracks MaxPreps' top 25

photo by Tiffany Tompkins-Condie

Quarterback Josh Meyer and the Manatee Hurricanes have played their way into the latest MaxPreps Xcellent 25.
Manatee is 3-0 after Friday's 23-13 win over Washington, D.C.'s Friendship Collegiate Academy. The Hurricanes opened the season by beating Baltimore's Gilman (44-14) and traditional rival Venice (35-14).
The Hurricanes entered last week ranked first in the state in Class 8A, and ranked nationally by USA Today and Rivals. They head to Sarasota on Friday.

Prep football: Manatee Hurricanes visit Pentagon Memorial

Hours before kicking off the regular season tonight against Gilman, Md., members of Manatee's football team visited the Pentagon Memorial, a tribute to the 184 lives lost Sept. 11, 2001 when hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building.
The Pentagon is located a quick walk from team's hotel in Arlington, Va.
Colonel Ed Fleming, the executive director of civil works and emergency operations at the US Army corps of engineers, accompanied the team to the memorial and also addressed the team at its hotel Sunday morning.
Col. Fleming went to West Point with Manatee alum Frank Brunner, who accompanied the Hurricanes on the trip.
Col. Fleming explained the positioning of the memorial benches dedicated to each of the day's victims: For the 125 who passed away in the Pentagon, their names and the building are in the same view; for the 55 on board Flight 77, their names  are in the same view as the plane's approach.
The wall surrounding memorial is symbolic in height, as well, starting at three inches for 3-year-old Dana Falkenberg, the youngest of the 184 victims, to 71 inches for 71-year-old John D. Yamnicky, the oldest of the victims.
Each memorial unit includes a bench and a lit pool of flowing water.
Flight 77 was one of four planes hijacked Sept. 11. Two flew into the twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center, while another crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pa. after passengers got wind of the attacks and thwarted the terrorists.
Col. Fleming told the players those planes were chosen for a purpose: they were making cross-country flights, which meant they were loaded with tons of fuel and were big enough to cause a lot of damage.
He also explained the reason the players and coaches had to go through a rigorous security check while boarding their plane in Tampa was because of the events of Sept. 11.
"You never had to take off your shoes or your belt or your belt buckles before Sept. 11, 2001," Col. Fleming said. "It was like getting on a bus.
Our lives were impacted forever on Sept. 11, 2001."
The Hurricanes stayed at the memorial for about 15 minutes before walking back to the team hotel, where they were scheduled to have a quick walk-through.
Manatee and Gilman kick off 7 p.m. tonight at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium, located on the campus of the University of Maryland.

Prep football: Allison is Palmetto's new QB, Tuten has left the team

Another year, another starting quarterback at Palmetto.
This time it is sophomore Jack Allison, who will be under center 7:30 p.m. Friday when the Tigers host Venice in their regular-season opener.
Allison beat out incumbent Chris Tuten for the job.
"He throws a catchable ball and is just a little bit more accurate," Tigers head coach Dave Marino said Thursday. "He's got composure in the pocket; he can move out of the pocket and still keep his eyes downfield. There's just intangibles, those quarterback skills. Tute had the experience, but the longer it progressed, Jack was getting a better understanding and a feel for our offense. And Tute was just sort of stagnant - he really hadn't improved much, he was still making similar mistakes he was making last season."
Allison is the third starting quarterback in as many seasons for the Tigers, beginning with Trenton Miller in 2011. A transplant from Buffalo, Miller helped lead Palmetto to its first state semifinal appearance in 25 years.
Spencer Atkins was supposed to take over the role last season, but the senior got hurt in Palmetto's season-opener against Riverview and gave way to Tuten, who steered Palmetto to a 9-3 record and a Class 5A playoff berth.
When Atkins was healthy, he switched to linebacker.
Now it's Allison's turn. And unlike Miller and Atkins, who were seniors, Allison will be with the team for two more seasons, injecting a dose of stability into one of the most important positions on the field.
"If you're going to be consistent, you're going to have to do it the same day in and day out," Marino said. "We felt like making this move now was the time...It will give him a few weeks before our district play starts. We just felt like we had to make a decision, we couldn't let this linger on any further."
With Allison now the starter, Tuten decided to leave the team, Marino said.
"It's disappointing," Marino said. "I thought he would have battled, because we told him - 'Hey, if Jack's not ready for varsity football, then we'll go with you because we know what you can do for us and your experience.' And he chose to back away from that challenge as opposed to accepting it. It was disappointing he reacted to the challenge that way."
Speaking of challenges, Palmetto's schedule offers plenty. The Tigers' first two opponents, Venice and St. Petersburg Lakewood, were a combined 18-6 last season. And their Week 3 opponent, Clearwater Countryside, was 4-6 - but forfeited six games for using an ineligible player.
"We're right out of the gates with three tough ones in a row, and it's going to be a test of our character," Marino said, "and how bad we want it and how passionate we are, and are we going to endure through this and grow with each experience."

Prep volleyball: District alignments

photo by Paul Videla

The 2013 volleyball season is underway, and with this being the first of new two-year cycle of district alignments, here are the districts involving area teams.
District tournaments begin the week of Oct. 21.

CLASS 8A-DISTRICT 8
Manatee
Palm Harbor University
Sarasota Riverview
St. Petersburg

CLASS 7A-DISTRICT 10
Braden River
Lakewood Ranch
Palmetto
North Port
Sarasota

CLASS 5A-DISTRICT 10
Bayshore
Southeast
Gulfport Boca Ciega
St. Petersburg Gibbs
St. Petersburg Lakewood

CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 10
Bradenton Christian
Cardinal Mooney
Out-of-Door Academy
Saint Stephen's
Imagine School of North Port