Kinnan challenging Canes

When it came time to schedule a game for the spring and another for the Kickoff Classic, Manatee coach Joe Kinnan went looking for quality opponents.
He sure found them.
Manatee hosts Largo this month and heads to Tampa Plant for the Kickoff Classic in August.
Largo has made consecutive trips to the Class 5A final four. And Tampa Plant, now competing in Class 5A, won the Class 4A state title last year.
Manatee's quarterback, Brion Carnes, is set to enter his fourth season as a varsity starter. And the Canes return three offensive linemen from last year's squad, which went 7-3 but missed the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
"We thought we'd throw a challenge at them right away," Kinnan said.
Largo went 12-2 last year and recorded four shutouts en route to winning its second regional championship.
Plant, which was ranked among the top 50 football teams in the country, was 14-1 but got a scare from Southeast in the Class 4A-Region 3 semifinals, which Plant won 13-7.