Friday Night Lights: Don Bosco Prep @ Manatee

BRADENTON – On Friday night, local football fans have the opportunity to witness something truly unique. Four of the best high school football programs in the world will go head to head at Hawkins Stadium. The Manatee Hurricanes and Number 1-ranked Don Bosco Prep, a New Jersey powerhouse will kick it off, followed by fellow Jersey prep stars Bergen Catholic, who will take on the Panthers of Tampa Plant.

Manatee QB Cord Sandberg PAGE MOORE PHOTO, 941-518-4600

The games are part of a growing tradition where dominant high school programs, with the help of professional promotional companies, are traveling far and wide to find real competition. Long an outstanding program in arguably the best football state in the U.S., Manatee has begun to establish itself as a perennial national contender in recent years, joining rivals St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) and Armwood (Seffner, FL) in most national ranking lists over the past several years.

Plant, who has also turned up on the national radar, lost its two biggest stars to graduation last year; James Wilder Jr., who came off the bench to lead Florida State in rushing last week, and QB Phillip Ely, who is expected to red-shirt at Alabama. Still, the Panthers (2-0) were dominant in a 36-6 win against Hillsborough last Friday, and new QB James Few looked to be emerging as a potential star. It will be a ”trade of rivals“ so to speak, when Plant takes on evenly-matched Bergen Catholic, who lost to Don Bosco last year in both the regular season and playoffs. The Crusaders are, for the most part, Bosco's only competition in the Garden State and provided their two narrowest margins of victory: 10 and 20 points.

Manatee, who lost a controversial overtime game to national top-10, Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, MD), in their opener, came back with a vengeance in downing Riverview 48-6 last week. In a showcase for coach Joe Kinnan's innovative offense, the Hurricanes looked even stronger than they did at this point last season. Junior QB Cord Sandberg was equally dangerous by air or by land, and his 65-yard run into the end zone just before half, was a thing of beauty. Sandberg's running ability draws defenders in tight, making last-second option pitches a constant threat, especially with a burner like Anthony Lauro waiting in the wings.

Lauro had over 300 yards of total offense last week, including a play-of-the-decade candidate when he bounced of a bevy of Ram defenders before even hitting the line of scrimmage, only to take the busted play 80 yards for Manatee's first score. On defense, senior LB Darius White was dominant and got help from 300 pound DL Derrick Calloway (3 sacks), 6'3 285-pound DL Demarcus Christmas, and 6'2 DE Blake Keller, who have so far seemed to fulfill the impossible task of replacing Manatee's 2010 defensive line – one of the best in area history.

However, one of the most important weapons in the Manatee arsenal is kicker Nicholas Tankersley – without a doubt the most likely player on the Manatee roster to someday make the NFL. Tankersley is the best high school kicker I've seen – ever! Aside from being a 50-yard plus field goal threat, the senior practically guarantees poor field position for opposing offenses, as evidenced by Riverview's 9 touch-backs on balls that were either through the end zone or too deep to bring out. Tankersley only needed to punt once, but boomed it more than 50 yards with gaudy hang time and perfect placement. He also made a PAT that Riverview defenders had been poised to block, by pulling up short and chipping it high at the last nano-second. Having that kind of kicker changes the outcomes of close games and Tankersley could be the deciding factor on Friday night.

As good as Manatee is, they will undoubtedly have their hands full with Don Bosco Prep, who is ranked number one in the U.S. in all of the major polls – National Prep, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Rivals.com and USA Today. Manatee was ranked as high as 4th going into the season, but has fallen to 8th in the National Prep poll and 19 on ESPN's list after the 24-17 loss to Good Counsel, in which a ball that was spotted on the 15 after an overtime start from the 25, was inexplicably judged to be short of a 4th down conversion when the chains were brought out. A win over Don Bosco would undoubtedly propel them to the top tier of every ranking. Bosco is no stranger to coming onto the home field of a vaunted challenger. In 2009, they went out to California and upset De La Salle High, who had won a record 151 games in a row. The loss was the first time De La Salle had lost on its home field since 1984!

The Hurricanes must expect and be prepared for a physical encounter. Don Bosco, who's won 36 in a row (and 111 of their last 115), including three straight Garden State titles and one national #1 finish, is known for smash-mouth football. That Manatee front four which looked so good against Riverview will have to play to its full potential and dominate Bosco in the trenches if they're going to keep the Ironmen's offense, which put up 35 points at home in last week's opener against California powerhouse Mission Viejo, under control.

On offense, Manatee will have to exploit its speed, which has troubled northern schools in the past, most notably when they traveled to PA last season and routed Woodland Hills. Field position will be key and if Tankersley does his thing, while Lauro is again able to give the 'Canes good field position on returns, Manatee will have the ability to control possession of the ball, perhaps the single most important factor of this matchup. Ultimately, much of the weight will rest on Sandberg's shoulders. He'll face perhaps the best secondary in the nation and if he puts too much air under his passes or forces the ball into coverage, Bosco's backs will make him pay.

The parochial school draws the best players from throughout New Jersey, some driving more than an hour to play for legendary coach Greg Toal, who took over the program in 1999 when it was merely average and turned it into the football factory it is today. Not surprisingly, Bosco boasts at least a half-dozen Division I prospects, including that fearsome defensive backfield. Senior DB's Yuri Wright and Elijah Shumate are considered IA shoe-ins and sophomore cornerback Jabrill Peppers is said by some to be the most overall gifted player on the squad. Star linebacker Michael Strizak is already committed to Boston College.

The player to watch, however, is number 94. Defensive end Darius Hamilton (6'4/255) is considered one of the best d-line prospects in the country. The son of former Pitt All-American and New York Giant star Keith Hamilton, he is a brutally quick man-child that can end up spending a lot of time in opposing backfields. Considering how difficult Bosco's secondary will make the passing game, Manatee will have to be able to block Strizak and Hamilton if their fast-breaking run game is going to be able to compensate.

Manatee's own legendary coach, Joe Kinnan, says he's hoping the sticky Florida heat will be an advantage for the Hurricanes against the northern team and says they're happy to be playing on their own turf.

"The biggest advantage we have is we're playing at home," said Kinnan, who also stressed the importance of playing disciplined ball against Don Bosco Prep. "This is a team that only gave up 4 turnovers in 12 games last year," said the coach. "Last week they had none, but picked off four passes. Our guys have to remember, this is a 48-minute game."

Kinnan said Manatee will bring the same balanced attack and will not be intimidated to pass against the Ironmen's vaunted secondary, noting their experience with teams like St. Thomas Aquinas who were also loaded in the defensive backfield. "We've seen this before and they're strong everywhere. They've got two returning linebackers and a strong front four. We're gonna have to be able to run and throw on Friday night."

The action gets started with an early 6:00 p.m. start at Joe Kinnan Field at Hawkins Stadium, with the Plant/Bergen Catholic game to follow at 8:30. Tickets are $15 and cover both games.