Manatee High’s football shakeup leads this week’s Numbers Game

From the sudden departures within Manatee High’s football program to green jackets and a historical first on the baseball diamond, there are plenty of digits to mull over from an action-packed weekend.

This week’s Numbers Game, though, also dices up this week’s Florida State Senior Amateur golf tournament and a local tearing it up in the Arena Football League.

Here we go:

.506

John Booth’s career winning percentage between his two high school stops in the last eight years. Booth turned a winless Valrico Bloomingdale team in his first season into a 6-4 mark in 2013. Then came the move to Manatee High, where he logged a 28-9 mark over three seasons. Now, the Hurricanes need to replace him and his twin brother, James. The latter severed as the Canes’ offensive coordinator, while John Booth was the head coach. That all changed late last week, when both Booths resigned their positions. John is heading into the financial advising world after the school year, while James Booth was named Plant City’s new head coach.

Following longtime head coach Joe Kinnan’s departure after the 2013 season, John Booth beat out several applicants that included six other finalists.

17

Age this year’s Masters champion, Sergio Garcia, was in 1997 when he won the David Leadbetter Golf Academy International junior tournament at the Arnold Palmer-designed Legacy Golf Club in Lakewood Ranch. This was the first year the Masters was without Palmer as the “King” passed away last summer. And for Garcia, he ended his major championship drought after 73 career starts without one. Garcia entered the final round with a career 31-over par back nine score at Augusta National Golf Club. But he surged to the green jacket with a 1-under par 35 that led to a playoff with England’s Justin Rose, who he defeated on the first sudden-death hole with a birdie.

Two of the three locals in the Masters field also made the cut. Former Bradenton Prep student Ben An (5-over par) and Bradenton’s Emiliano Grillo (12-over par) played the weekend at Augusta.

3

Touchdowns for former Palmetto High standout Joe Hills in his Tampa Bay Storm debut. Hills, who is the reigning Arena Football League Offensive Player of the Year, provided those three scores in a 46-40 road victory over the Cleveland Gladiators.

1989

The last year the Florida State Senior Amateur champion repeated. Fort Lauderdale’s Peter Wegmann is attempting to defend his crown at Bradenton Country Club starting Tuesday. The 54-hole tournament concludes Thursday. There are eight former champions and five former senior players of the year in the 144-player field.

10

Career home runs for Kevin Krause prior to this season’s start with the Bradenton Marauders. Krause connected with homers in his first two at-bats to make history with the M’s, who began playing in 2010. Nobody ever hit home runs in their first two at-bats with the club before Krause accomplished the feat. That list includes current Pittsburgh Pirates outfielders Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco.

This story was originally published April 10, 2017 at 7:05 PM with the headline "Manatee High’s football shakeup leads this week’s Numbers Game."