BRADENTON
They will fire up the lights at Hawkins Stadium tonight, just like they’ve done so many times on nights like this.
Ask those expected to pack the place for Manatee’s Class 5A-Region 3 semifinal against St. Petersburg, and they will tell you the venerable stadium located a long Hail Mary from downtown Bradenton was built to host playoff games, built to pulse and shake during Fridays in late November.
Yep, the postseason is back at Hawkins Stadium for the first time since 2006.
A few miles to the east, just off bustling State Road 70, they will fire up the lights at Braden River’s football stadium, where they have never fired them up this late.
Yep, the postseason is coming to Braden River High for the first time ever with a Class 3A-Region 3 semifinal against Lake Wales.
Not far over the county line, at Sarasota High School, they will be firing up the lights for the biggest football game in Out-of-Door Academy’s history.
Yep, a regional final is coming to the Thunder, who face Fort Myers Evangelical Christian for the Class 1B-Region 3 championship.
It’s fitting that the same night Manatee suits up for its 61st playoff game, the Pirates and Thunder are playing their fourth and third, respectively.
The sage, seasoned veterans and the rambunctious kids, playing the same night, a handful of miles from each other, shooting for the common goal of a state championship.
This is integral for Braden River and Out-of-Door Academy, two of the area’s newer programs looking to craft legacies in the vein of Manatee and Southeast.
Each has taken a crucial step — getting back to the playoffs after reaching them for the first time last season.
“In the eyes of our community,” said ODA coach Brett Timmons, “this gives our program some credibility.”
A state champion during his playing days at Southeast, Timmons knows the community, and he knows that the elite teams don’t just win, they win often.
Timmons knows his team has a ways to go, but making the playoffs twice in the first four years is a great start.
Braden River, two-time playoff qualifiers in three full varsity seasons, has also leapt out of the starting block.
“That’s what we preach — consistency. You can’t be a flash in the pan,” Timmons said. “To gain respect and garner respect in this athletic community, you have to year in and year out prove that you can do it...You have to consistently put out a quality product.”
Manatee started somewhere. Southeast started somewhere. Palmetto, which won the county’s first state football title in 1975, started somewhere.
Braden River and Out-of-Door Academy have started somewhere. They cracked the postseason last year and have added to that achievement this fall.
Tonight, they’ll all be playing football, all be fighting for a state title. It’s another step in the legacy that is the Manatee Hurricanes, and a key piece of moving forward for the Braden River Pirates and ODA Thunder.
They’re firing up the lights all over the area tonight.
Regardless of what happens, they won’t be firing them off any time soon.
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