Area prep football teams on display

BRADENTON — Southeast and Manatee will get a chance to show off two of the area’s most promising air attacks.

Bayshore will get a chance to work on defending the spread.

All three teams will get plenty of game time over the next three days, competing in the 2010 National High School Coaches Association 7-on-7 Football Championships, beginning today at The IMG Academies.

Action begins at 9:30 a.m. on three fields.

Each game is 22 minutes long, with the clock running continuously for the first 20 minutes. There is also no overtime in pool play.

The Seminoles and Hurricanes will field two teams each, while the Bruins will send one. Teams from Crane (Texas), Crisp County (Ga.), La Villa (Texas) and Wren (S.C.) round out the field.

The tournament is geared around passing — running plays are not permitted and quarterbacks have four seconds to throw before being ruled “sacked.”

Southeast (Dyron Speight) and Manatee (Cord Sandberg) boast two of the area’s most interesting quarterbacks. Speight, a senior, has scholarship offers from Kent State and Western Kentucky and threw for approximately 2,000 yards last season.

Sandberg is a rising sophomore who will be called upon to replace four-year starter Brion Carnes. Sandberg, who saw varsity action late last season, completed 21 of 24 passes against Palm Bay Bayside during Manatee’s spring game.

Bayshore, primarily a running team, will look to shore up its past defense over the next few days, said Bruins coach Jean P. Gordon.

“We play so many spread teams. When you start your season, all you do is work against each other, and we’re predominately a running team,” Gordon said. “We don’t do a lot of the spread stuff. ... We can use all of our different defenses and coverages.”

Pool play runs today and Friday, and the championship game is scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

The last games today are scheduled for 3:30 p.m.