High school football is back! Here’s a look at all the Manatee County teams for 2023
It’s time for Friday night lights.
It’s time for the first turf fields at public high schools to open for play.
It’s time for seniors to have a last crack at a state championship season.
It’s high school football in Manatee County.
And it begins with preseason Kickoff Classics on Friday.
The county experienced the hottest and driest July on record, and there wasn’t a let-up with the heat in August. Whether or not there are games delayed to start the season remains to be seen.
But the action is set for Friday. And with Manatee and Palmetto becoming the first public schools in the county to receive turf field renovations to their stadiums, it’s a new era for high school football.
Here’s a look at the county teams heading into the 2023 season:
Manatee
The Hurricanes ooze experience and talent for third-year head coach Jacquez Green. Nine of 11 starters return on defense, including Alvoid Kennon, Ean Johnson-Kelley and Tyreek’e Robinson.
And Trayvon Pinder is slated to play linebacker after playing running back at Braden River last season.
The offense boasts some speed, with a line that can move and three members of the 4x100 meter relay team that took third in the Class 4A state meet in the spring.
It gives the Canes several playmakers that can take it to the house on one play.
Palmetto
The Tigers have enjoyed the most success among public high school teams in the county over the last several years. It included back-to-back state semifinal appearances in 2020 and 2021.
This year, they’re under a new head coach after Dave Marino retired in January. Rashad West, who previously coached at Lakewood Ranch and Southeast, was hired a month later.
With Palmetto joining Manatee as the first two public schools to get turf fields, it’s caused the Tigers to alter their preseason practice schedule. They’ve adjusted with practices at Palmetto Charter School and Blackstone Park.
“They tore up our field and we lost our practice field,” West said. “So we’ve just been trying to overcome all the different obstacles as we practice. As I tell the kids every day, (St. Petersburg) Lakewood on the 18th won’t care that we don’t have a practice field. They won’t care that we got run off the field because of the weather. So we’ve just got to adapt.”
Palmetto lost some receiving talent off last year’s team, which means senior Rok Lodge is expected to be a go-to target for new quarterback Clayton Dees, who transferred from Lakewood Ranch.
Braden River
The longest-tenured head coach in the county, Curt Bradley enters his 12th season leading the Pirates. Braden River has four seniors with their offensive line and tight end, which is an area the Pirates are relying on.
Defensively, Braden River’s secondary is expected to be strong. Isaac Heaven, a senior, is a basketball player that came to the football program in 2023, while Sammy Levita is a receiver that switched to cornerback and Jevon Moore is a senior defensive back that returns.
“We have a couple other guys that we’re excited to get back into the secondary as well,” Bradley said.
Lakewood Ranch
Former Bradenton Christian coach Scott Paravicini was hired to lead the Mustangs after the offseason departure of Rashad West.
Some of the contributors to watch on Fridays this fall are Jayden Munoz, who is a two-way player. He’s set to play as a slot receiver and free safety.
Another key two-way player for the Mustangs is senior Dalin Koscielski, who plays cornerback and wide receiver.
Southeast
A tradition-rich and storied program, the Southeast Seminoles continue to follow head coach Brett Timmons’ blueprint: get aggressive on the field and embrace the blue-collar work ethic that has been a cornerstone of Southeast football’s identity over the years.
“We’re going to be hard workers, blue collar, be aggressive,” assistant coach Ervin Gibbs said. “Basically, we’re just trying to bring back the Seminoles of the 90s.”
Parrish Community
The newest public school football program has a new head coach this season. Dylan Clark, who previously coached at Tampa Alonso, takes over for the Bulls.
“We’re just trying to build the culture of doing things the right way, in the classroom, in the community and building the foundations and the building blocks of hard work and effort and energy and executing and minimizing mistakes,” Clark said.
Quarterback Jackson Volz, tight end Lane Tomlinson, middle linebacker Gage Cameron and outside linebacker Holten Graham are a few of the key players for the Bulls this season.
Bayshore
The Bruins have not made the playoffs since 2005. It’s the longest drought for Manatee County public school teams.
The Bruins are in Class 2S-District 15, competing with Sarasota Booker, Arcadia DeSoto and Englewood Lemon Bay.
Bradenton Christian, Saint Stephen’s, IMG Academy
With the coaching shuffle during the offseason, Bradenton Christian was left needing to fill their head coaching position and they went with the youngest coach in the county: Nate Strawderman.
It’s his first head coaching gig, and he has a team that has enough depth that not every player will have to play both sides of the ball.
The Panthers compete in the Sunshine State Athletic Conference alongside Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School. The Falcons are the defending SSAC Class 5A state champions.
IMG Academy’s national team starts the season ranked No. 4 in the country, according to MaxPreps.
The Ascenders are loaded with 5-star recruits and also have two other varsity teams. They are IMG White and IMG Blue. The former plays Southeast and Palmetto this season.
High school football is back.
It starts Friday night.
It’s time.
