1. Manatee (Bradenton, Fla.) -
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Cord Sandberg makes the Manatee offense tick and is a big reason the team enters the summer ranked No. 1.
Photo by Mike Janes
Strengths: No team has a better combination of success in 2011 and key returners than Manatee, Florida’s defending Class 7A state champion. Top 100 quarterback
Cord Sandberg is in his third season at the helm of the offense. He’ll be protected by an offensive line that is nearly intact, which will allow Sandberg to connect with top target
Anthony Lauro. Lauro will also be used in the backfield. The team’s biggest strength by far is its defensive line. It returns
Marquis Dawsey,
Blake Keller,
Derrick Calloway and
Demarcus Christmas, a tremendous blend of pass rushers and run stoppers that wreaked havoc last year and will be noticeably better this fall.
Question marks: Manatee needs players to step up at linebacker. However, with the type of push that the defensive front will get, the linebackers will likely get to just sit back in coverage. Though it has plenty of young, speedy options, Manatee does not have a Mike Blakely-type of workhorse running back.
Outlook: Several teams have an argument for starting the season at No. 1, but we believe Manatee’s is the strongest. The only losses it suffered last year were to Good Counsel on the road (in a controversial ending) and at home to No. 1 Don Bosco Prep, a game which it led late in the game. Both of those teams simply raved about Manatee’s athleticism and tenacity. It will need to display both of those traits in 2012 to overcome a schedule that includes Miami Central and a playoff bracket likely to feature reloaded St. Thomas Aquinas and Dwyer squads. It will also need to endure the hurricane-sized bulls eye that comes with being the nation’s top-ranked team.
