Palmetto and Braden River renew a football rivalry this week. Here’s what to know.
After a one-year hiatus in the series, Palmetto and Braden River are set to clash Friday.
Palmetto has won three of the last five meetings between the two, showcasing how close the football rivalry has been as of late.
The game takes place at Braden River High, which means the added bonus of two local teams competing. That, in turn, means increased revenue from more attendance than if either team had a home game against a non-area program.
The two teams feature the longest tenured head coaches in the county with Palmetto’s Dave Marino, in his 13th season, and Braden River’s Curt Bradley, in his 11th season. Palmetto reached back-to-back state semifinals in 2019 and 2020. Miami Central eliminated the Tigers in those semifinal games on the way to a state title.
Braden River reached a state semifinal in 2015, losing to Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, who later captured a state championship.
And in 2011, Palmetto advanced to a state semifinal early in Marino’s time with the Tigers, but fell to the Duke Johnson-led Miami Norland Vikings, who later won a state title.
In each of those occasions, the Manatee County programs played the South Florida teams closer than the state title opponents.
“I tip my hat to Dade and Broward, they got our number, that’s a different animal down there,” Marino said. “But I’ll put Sarasota/Manatee county up against anybody. We’ve proven it. Us, Braden River’s proven it.”
This year’s new Florida High School Athletic Association format has created even more revenue opportunities for the state and local teams as the eight largest counties by population were divided into metro classes, while the smallest populated counties were thrown into one rural class and the rest lumped multiple suburban classes.
Manatee and Sarasota counties fall into the suburban classification system, with district play grouping Palmetto with rival Manatee and Lakewood Ranch, while a Sarasota district in the same class consists of Sarasota, Sarasota Riverview and Venice. In addition to local district games during the regular season, there are guaranteed local playoff games in Class 4S.
“The reason why the coaches were all on board with it, even Dade and Broward, was because the money is going to be astronomical,” Marino said. “Because now instead of Central coming up here or us going there to play that semifinal game, it’s going to be against Jackson or Dillard or whatever class (they’re in). ... It’s going to be 60,000 people where the Dolphins play. Same thing if us or Manatee, whoever, God willing, gets to play Venice in a rematch in the semifinal game, it’s going to be huge.”
Braden River are well rested, coming off a bye week to start the season. The Pirates pose a tough task for the Tigers with how well organized they are under Bradley and Braden River offensive coordinator Eric Sanders.
“They will put their kids in positions to have success and their kids make plays,” Marino said. “They methodically execute. They’re very disciplined.”
The Pirates developed into a powerhouse program under Bradley, who was the program’s fourth coach in five years when he was hired in May 2012. He provided stability and created a culture change that culminated with the 2015 state semifinal appearance. Braden River has made the playoffs eight straight seasons, and lost 24-21 to Palmetto in a Class 6A region quarterfinal in 2019.
The Tigers moved up a classification last season, which broke up the district pairing they had with Braden River.
Now the two square off once more. The average victory margin in the past five meetings is 10.2 points. And in those last five games in the series, three have been decided by a touchdown or less.
Braden River won the last matchup, 34-20, in 2020.
Palmetto bounced back off that defeat to reach a second straight state semifinal for the first time in program history. Only Manatee and Southeast High had accomplished that feat in county history.
There are a couple holdovers from the state semifinal teams, though none were starters. What Palmetto has is an experienced receiving corps, along with a returning quarterback.
Zander Smith is a 6-foot-4 sophomore, who threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns against one interception in the Tigers’ Week 1 victory over St. Petersburg Gibbs.
“Having that quarterback-receiving .... chemistry is very advantageous,” Marino said.
But Palmetto isn’t just an offense built on the passing game as Marino said the running backs and offensive line continue improving. That gives the Tigers a balanced look. On defense, they have returners at each level — line, linebacker, secondary — and have used 17 different players to contribute so far between the Kickoff Classic and the regular-season opening win.
And on Friday, a rivalry gets renewed when Palmetto heads to Braden River.
“It’s going to be a fun atmosphere for (the) kids,” Marino said. “That’s what our kids missed and I’m sure his kids missed last year us not playing.”
This story was originally published September 1, 2022 at 5:01 PM.
