It’s Gameday! Here’s what you need to know for Week 1 of the high school football season

Feel free to rejoice — high school football is back.

After a dry run — well, a wet run, actually, as Mother Nature had her say — in last week’s Kickoff Classics, these games count.

And for starters, we get a matchup featuring two Manatee County public-school programs as Southeast crosses the river to face Palmetto.

Meanwhile, Manatee faces a difficult task at perennial state power Lakeland, and Braden River — minus its head coach and star wide receiver — takes a trip to Jacksonville to face a Trinity Christian program that won nine games last season.

Enjoy all of the action.

Here are storylines to watch for Manatee County teams as kickoff approaches for Week 1:

Bayshore

In pursuit of its first winning season in more than a decade, Bayshore secured a confidence-boosting 26-14 victory over St. Petersburg Dixie Hollins in the Kickoff Classic. Now that the regular season is here, the Bruins must continue to show improvement — starting with the Week 1 game at Sarasota — if third-year coach John Biezuns is to lead Bayshore to its first winning season since 2004. Four of the Bruins’ five losses last season were by a combined 15 points. With 11 starters returning, that experience could bolster Bayshore’s bid to put the program back on the map.

Braden River

With Knowledge McDaniel ineligible for at least the first two games of the season, Brian Battie showed he’s ready to step up for Braden River. A transfer from Sarasota, Battie carried 13 times for 296 yards and five touchdowns — in the first half — of the Pirates’ 49-27 Kickoff Classic win over Lehigh Acres Lehigh. Look for a tougher test in the season opener as Braden River, which will be without suspended head coach Curt Bradley for the first two games, takes the long trip to Jacksonville Trinity Christian. Quarterback Bryan Gagg threw for 187 yards and two touchdowns for the high-powered Pirates in the rout of Lehigh.

Bradenton Christian

With second-year coach Dan Fort building the program around numerous sophomores and juniors, Bradenton Christian will need its underclassmen to step up as the Panthers look to improve on last season’s 4-6 record. After a 47-14 loss to Seffner Christian in the Kickoff Classic, Bradenton Christian turned its focus toward Auburndale Jordan Christian Prep, which comes to town for the season opener. Jordan Christian Prep won the 2017 matchup 24-0.

Cardinal Mooney

After winning two state titles during an illustrious 33-year run at Southeast, Paul Maechtle makes his regular-season debut as Cardinal Mooney’s coach as the Cougars host Fort Myers Bishop Verot. Maechtle, an assistant at Cardinal Mooney the previous three seasons before taking over for Drew Lascari (now on the staff at Rutgers University), left Southeast after the 2013 season. Mooney beat DeSoto County 30-20 in its Kickoff Classic behind a pair of juniors — running back Tray Hall scored three touchdowns and quarterback Ryan Bolduc threw for 250 yards and a pair of scores.

IMG Academy

IMG Academy opens the season as the No. 1 team in the country and a winner of 37 straight games. That didn’t seem to impress Lake City Columbia, which stunned the Ascenders 33-30 in the Kickoff Classic. Both teams played their starters throughout the first half and the first series of the third quarter before the reserves entered. Columbia led 33-13 at the half. It was a surprising result for a defense that has Florida State (four-star linebacker Jaleel McCrae), Georgia (five-star defensive end Nolan Smith) and Michigan (linebacker Charles Thomas) commits. Still, none of that will matter as IMG looks to make it 38 straight victories when the Ascenders make the trip to Gibsonia, Pa., to face Pine-Richland.

Lakewood Ranch

Yes, it was a preseason game, but Lakewood Ranch couldn’t have asked for much more during its 35-0 rout of Osceola in the Kickoff Classic. First-year coach Chris Culton’s squad held Osceola to 105 yards of offense and forced two turnovers in recording the shutout. The Mustangs were sharp from the outset and built their 35-point lead by the third quarter in tuning up for the season opener against visiting Cape Coral Ida Baker. Culton was a longtime assistant at the U.S. Naval Academy and is bringing a disciplined approach to the program. A shutout win showed the grit Culton is looking for from his players.

Manatee

How about this three-game gauntlet to open the season: at six-time state champion Lakeland, home against up-and-coming Palmetto and at Braden River, which will be getting coach Curt Bradley back for the matchup and also could be welcoming back Knowledge McDaniel, the 2017 Bradenton Herald offensive player of the year. That’s what awaits Manatee as it embarks on its second season under Yusuf Shakir. So much for easing into the season. The Hurricanes enter their opener against the Polk County power coming off a 16-9 win over North Miami in the Kickoff Classic. Keyon Fordham had 11 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown in the victory.

Out-of-Door Academy

Chris Kempton knows it will take time for Out-of-Door Academy to build an identity during his first year as head coach. Case in point: A 19-0 loss at Naples St. John Neumann in the Kickoff Classic. Coming off a six-win season, the Thunder take their second trip down Interstate 75 in two weeks when they face Fort Myers Canterbury in their season opener. It’s the second straight year ODA will open the season in Fort Myers — the Thunder beat Gateway Charter 30-12 to kick off the 2017 campaign.

Palmetto

The quest for a second straight postseason berth begins as Palmetto hosts Southeast in the season opener. The Tigers’ big-play offense was on display in a 34-8 win over Booker in the Kickoff Classic as quarterback Anthony Marino completed 11 of 19 passes and ran for two touchdowns. In a stacked district with Braden River and defending state champion Venice, coach Dave Marino’s squad faces back-to-back county foes — Southeast and Manatee — in Weeks 1 and 2 as the Tigers prepare for the rigors of Class 7A-11, which also includes Lakewood Ranch, North Port and Sarasota.

Saint Stephen’s

Two-time defending Sunshine State Athletic Conference state champion Saint Stephen’s has to wait an extra week before opening its eight-game slate against Tampa Cambridge Christian. Still, the Falcons looked more than ready during a 28-0 win over Lake Mary Prep in the Kickoff Classic. Veteran coach Tod Creneti has a lot of talent to replace — stalwarts Fred Billy and twins Chase Brown (Western Michigan) and Sydney Brown (Illinois) have graduated — but the Falcons have enough depth to make a run at a three-peat.

Southeast

The Brett Timmons era at Southeast opens as the Seminoles host Palmetto. A 1995 Southeast graduate, Timmons was the head coach at Out-of-Door Academy for nine seasons (2006-14) before taking a job at the University of South Florida. Timmons was a linebacker on Southeast’s 1993 and 1994 state championship teams and played collegiately at Tulane. The Seminoles and Ruskin Lennard played to a 13-13 tie — the teams agreed to end the game after the third overtime — in the Kickoff Classic.

Week 1 schedule

Auburndale Jordan Christian Prep at Bradenton Christian, 7 p.m.

Fort Myers Bishop Verot at Cardinal Mooney, 7 p.m.

IMG White at Melbourne Central Catholic, 7 p.m.

Out-of-Door Academy at Fort Myers Canterbury, 7 p.m.

Bayshore at Sarasota, 7:30 p.m.

Braden River at Jacksonville Trinity Christian, 7:30 p.m.

Cape Coral Ida Baker at Lakewood Ranch, 7:30 p.m.

IMG Blue at Pine-Richland (Gibsonia, Pa.), 7:30 p.m.

Manatee at Lakeland, 7:30 p.m.

Southeast at Palmetto, 7:30 p.m.

This story was originally published August 23, 2018 at 9:24 AM.