Palmetto vs. Braden River in Manatee County rivalry tinged by bad blood

SARASOTA — In a profession where impatient administrations, clueless and abusive parents, vocal boosters, and greener pastures (i.e. more money) elsewhere can send a high school head football coach reaching for the Tylenol or the front door, Dave Marino and Curt Bradley are survivors.

So much so that when Braden River hosts Palmetto on Friday night, each sideline will be occupied by the deans of head football coaches in Manatee County.

Last week, the Tigers' Marino started his 13th season as Palmetto's head coach. Friday night; Bradley will begin his 11th in the same capacity for the Pirates. When compared to the tenures of Paul Maechtle (33 years at Southeast), John Sprague (30 years at Riverview), and Joe Kinnan (29 years at Manatee), Marino and Bradley are mere gridiron youngsters.

"I started at 26," said Bradley, who took over for Don Purvis before the 2012 season. "I thought 37 would be a long time away, but I'm 37 now and loving what I'm doing. Some guys have aspirations of moving on to college. Obviously, there are some financial issues, some guys bounce to Georgia to get paid more. But I'm happy where I'm at."

Along with his offensive coordinator, Eric Sanders, Bradley came to the area after serving as a graduate assistant at Syracuse University. "We both had opportunities to go back to college," he said. "I turned them down because it's just a different lifestyle." With a wife and child, Bradley couldn't see himself absent from them while spending four months on the recruiting trail.

"Our goal coming down, it was just to do the high school thing as long as we could, and win a bunch of games. My dad played baseball when I was growing up and the longest I lived anywhere was four months. To be in a place 11 years, it's great. I don't have to pick up and move."

Bradley and his staff have delivered the wins for Braden River. After going 2-9 and 5-4 his first two years, Bradley engineered seasons of 10-1 in 2014 and 13-1 in 2015, the latter squad losing to eventual state champion St. Thomas Aquinas in a Class 7A semifinal. His record, even with 2017's 0-11 mark, punitive action handed down by the FHSAA for providing "impermissible benefits" to a player, is a sparkling 70-46.

Marino has been in the area considerably longer. The Rutgers grad was Maechtle's offensive line coach at Southeast before joining Faust DeLazzer at the nascent Lakewood Ranch program. Becoming a HC had been Marino's goal all along. Before getting the Palmetto job, he had applied at Braden River, Lakewood Ranch, Bayshore, and Saint Stephen's.

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Marino took over the Tiger job after a four-year stint by Raymond Woodie, whose goal, Marino said, was to bring a state title back to his alma mater. Except for the 1975 state title, with Frank Turner as head coach, and a 1986 regional crown, Palmetto football had been largely unremarkable. And its coaches unreliable.

"Everyone always used Palmetto for a stepping stone for something better," said Marino, who had his own chance. In 2011, former Gator offensive line coach Steve Addazio, who knew Marino, got hired by Temple as its head football coach. Addazio wanted Marino on his staff. For the Jersey-born Marino, it was a "dream come true job." Until he remembered the commitment he had made to his Tiger players.

"I told Steve, I said, 'coach, how am I going to get in front of those kids after Woodie just left? We promised these kids.''' Said Addazio in response, "You have more integrity than most."

Marino has been the driving force behind getting Palmetto's program on solid ground. Only three times in his 13 years have the Tigers finished below .500. His teams have reached two state semifinals and Marino owns a career mark of 94-53. Five of those losses have come to Bradley and his Pirates, most recently a 34-20 loss in 2020.

The Pirates own a 5-4 advantage in head-to-head meetings, but the two didn't play last year, a point which still chafes Marino. "We were supposed to play the game home," he said, "so we lost a big gate when we needed it coming off limited seating capacity during the COVID year. You should schedule all your county teams first."

Said Bradley, "I told Dave the same thing. We were expecting him to be in our district and we had already made a non-conference schedule." And if Bradley and his Pirates had any reason to be bitter themselves, Marino provided it by welcoming former Braden River running back Lavontae Youmans onto the Tigers. Last season, Youmans tied for the team's rushing high with 584 yards.

Two County teams, a 5-4 Braden River edge in games played, and bad blood on both sides.

"Absolutely," Marino said. "Absolutely."

The delicious recipe for a rivalry.

"Yeah, look, yeah, it's a big rivalry," Bradley said. "And, no doubt, we want to win this football game."

Week 2 schedule

FRIDAY'S GAMES

Palmetto at Braden River

Bradenton Christian at Westminster Academy

Southeast at Booker

Charlotte at Port Charlotte

Orlando Christian Prep at IMG White

IMG National at De Smet Jesuit (St. Louis)

Cardinal Mooney at Lakewood Ranch

Manatee at Sarasota

Gateway Charter at North Port

Oasis Charter at Out-of-Door Academy

Parrish Community at Discovery

Riverview at Buchholz

Northside Christian at Saint Stephen’s

Naples at Venice

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Palmetto vs. Braden River in Manatee County rivalry tinged by bad blood