Rankings don't rattle Kinnan

Armed with a 3-0 start and a convincing win over Tampa Plant in a Kickoff Classic, Manatee finds itself on a number of national prep football polls.
It just doesn't find itself in the same place on any of them.
The Hurricanes are ranked second by ESPN Rise and fifth by USA Today - but 33rd by Rivals.com.
None of this means much to coach Joe Kinnan, however.
"I don't even know what we are," he said. "You just keep winning, and it just takes care of itself at the end."
Rankings mean little when it comes to what happens on a Friday night. Just ask the Canes, who were unranked heading into last year's Class 5A state final four and defeated Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, ranked No.1 in the nation at the time.
"You go 15-0, and it will take care of itself. You don't, and you're not a top-10 team," Kinnan said. "If you can't win 15 games, you probably don't deserve to be in the top 10."
Manatee was idle last week and hosts Lakewood Ranch on Friday before beginning Class 5A-District 10 play Oct.8 against visiting Sarasota. The Hurricanes are still a bit banged up - defensive back Clinton Heaven (jaw) and wide receiver Anthony Lauro (knee) will not play Friday - but district play is what they are working toward, especially since Manatee hasn't won a district title since 2006.
"We broke this season down into a preseason, where we've got some really good people that we're going to play against," Kinnan said. "This is the district season. We've got to prepare ourselves."