A roundup of Manatee and Sarasota County high school sports for Feb. 9-14, 2026.
SATURDAY
Boys Basketball Regional Quarterfinals
Class 5A-Region 3
Braden River 64, Cape Coral 54: The Braden River Pirates shifted into a higher gear in the second half to finally pull away from the Cape Coral Seahawks for a 64-54 victory.
The Seahawks (23-5) held one-point leads at the end of the first quarter (13-12) and at halftime 23-22. But the Pirates (23-6) outscored Cape Coral, 10-2, to begin the third period and never relinquished the lead after that.
“We turned it up on defense in the second half,” Pirates head coach Dwight Gilmer said. “I wasn’t really happy with our defensive effort in the first half.
“I told them that we’ve got to rebound and we’ve got to defend. We made them a little more uncomfortable, and we were able to get some steals.”
Braden River made good use of its size advantage down low in the second half.
“They rebounded much better in the second half than we did,” Seahawks head coach Charley Cipriani said. “They have some bigger guys that created mismatches for us.
“In the first half, we boxed out like crazy. Their physicality started getting to us.”
Braden River 6-4 junior southpaw Anthony Bailey led all scorers with 22 points, scoring both from the perimeter and attacking the basket.
“When he is getting downhill with that left hand, he is tough to guard,” Gilmer said.
Jaron Blanding, another 6-4 Braden River junior, scored 12 points, including 10 in the second half and 7 in the third quarter. Junior guard Anquan Polynice also added 12 points for the Pirates.
The night was extra special for another reason for Polynice. Connecting on a free throw in the fourth quarter gave him his 1,000th point as a Pirate, with his senior season yet to play.
“Anquan is a coach’s dream,” Gilmer said. “He is in the gym putting in the time all the time. If anybody deserves it, he deserves it. He works very hard. I’m really proud of him.”
Senior Elijah Felix, who came into the game as Cape Coral’s leading scorer, averaging 16.1 points per game, led the Seahawks with 13 points. Sophomore Jiovanni Legros contributed 12, and senior Cole Huff was in double figures with 10 points for Cape Coral.
The Pirates now look toward a region semifinal game at St. Petersburg High on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Green Devils (19-9) won their region quarterfinal, 76-47, over Dunbar High on Saturday.
“We’ve got to play our best basketball this time of the year,” Gilmer said. “Every team is a tough opponent now. We’ve got to come ready to play right at the beginning of the game. If we do that, I think the sky is the limit.”
—Jim Brockman
Class 6A-Region 3
Parrish 81, Palmetto Ridge 60: Winners by 14 points over Palmetto Ridge last month at the Wally Keller Classic, the second-seeded Parrish High boys basketball team once again submitted a dominating performance with the stakes ratcheted up.
With Evan Roberts’ 21 points leading four players in double digits, the host Bulls easily disposed of the seventh-seeded Bears, 81-60, on Saturday night in a Class 6A-Region 3 quarterfinal at the Parrish gym.
The victory boosted the Bulls’ record to 25-3, the best in school history, and into a regional semifinal game at home against East Lake on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. Palmetto Ridge finished with a 19-9 record.
Besides Roberts’ 21 points, Parrish got 20 from Chris Roberts, 13 from Seth Browner, and 10 from Kendall Davis. The Bulls led at each of the stops, 14-9 after the first quarter, 39-30 at halftime, and 59-48 at the end of three.
Second-year head coach Andre Johnson said he wanted his team to play as it has all season.
“Really wanted to make sure we’re coming in executing and playing all together,” he said. “We saw some things they kind of exploited (in the first meeting), and we wanted to make sure we took that away this time around.”
In the third quarter, the Bears cut the Parrish lead to 9 points, 49-40, but the Bulls responded with two free throws by Dante Rivers, a Chris Roberts jumper, and a three-point play by Browner. It opened a 56-42 margin and Palmetto Ridge would get no closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
“We just all want to play together,” Johnson said. “Make sure we’re all kind of sharing the wealth a little bit. It’s harder to beat five guys than just one guy. We’re all trying to play together and play the right way.”
— Doug Fernandes
Class 7A-Region 3
Sarasota 88, Winter Haven 59: The top-ranked Sailors will face No. 5 Sumner in a regional semifinal on Saturday, Feb. 21.
Osceola 90, Riverview 56
Class 2A-Region 3
Saint Stephen’s 59, Tampa Prep 54: The Falcons, the sixth seed, will face No. 2 seed First Baptist in Naples on Saturday, Feb. 21 in the semifinals.
Class 1A-Region 3
Sarasota Christian 66, All Saints’ Academy 47: Once again, Sarasota Christian overcame a slow start and went on to roll past All Saints’ Academy, 66-47, in a Region 1A-3 boys basketball quarterfinal Saturday night.
The Saints took a 15-11 lead with 1:38 remaining in the first quarter when Blazers coach Kevin Bruinsma called for a timeout. When play resumed, Sarasota Christian went on a 13-0 run to open up a nine-point lead midway through the second quarter.
“I just said ‘Guys, we are getting better quality shots than they are.’ And over the course of a 32-minute game, normally the team that’s getting better quality shots is going to win,” Bruinsma said. “So just keep plugging along. The offensive possessions were great. We just didn’t make the shots.”
The Saints would rally to close the gap to 33-27 at halftime, then scored the first two baskets of the second half to cut the margin to two and force another Blazers timeout.
“We really ratcheted up the defensive intensity,” Bruinsma said. “The on-ball pressure, quicker rotations. They’re a good team. They beat us earlier in the year in our holiday tournament. We thought that we were the better team but we needed to go prove that this evening and I think we did that.”
Travis Miller sparked the offense with a 3-pointer and a steal and score, then Ben Millilken hit back-to-back triples as the Blazers took a 50-37 lead into the fourth quarter.
“I’ve always shot 3s, it was just a matter of time,” Milliken said. “We had a good shoot around today. When you get a whole week to prepare for a team in your home gym, I mean it’s my last home game here ever, it was bound to happen.”
Sarasota Christian pulled away in the fourth quarter, leading by as much as 26 points before the starters took a seat for the remainder of the contest.
“I said it last week, basketball is a game of runs,” Milliken said. “It’s the round of 32 in the state. Everybody here is good. We knew they were going to make a run. They’re a good team, but we just had to come out and get some stops, put it on them and just end it. We knew it was coming.”
Noah Spenn had the task of guarding center Josh Koch, the Saints’ leading scorer.
Koch scored only six points while collecting 12 rebounds.
“We did a ton of big breakdown with Coach Bruisma,” Spenn said. “Teaching us all the ins and outs and the counters and how to deal with a guy who’s bigger than you. As you can tell, it really paid off. We stayed together as a team and once we got down, in the words of Justin Brock, we didn’t think twice about it.”
All five Blazer starters scored in double figures as Sarasota Christian avenged the earlier loss to All Saints.
“We talk a lot about get back and get out games coming back from a break,” Spenn said. “We were just slow coming off of the break, kind of just methodical and slow. Tonight, we knew what we were going up against. We had a game plan and we executed it. We played together as a team, stayed united and kept the morale up which I think helped get the win tonight.”
Milliken was the Blazers’ leading scorer with 15 points. Miller and Spenn added 12 apiece, Drew Sirianni had 11 and Brock finished with 10. Owen Shoultz and Landon Gall paced the Saints with 11 each.
The Blazers improved to 18-10 and will face Victory Christian in the semifinals next Saturday night.
“We were just thankful to play the game at home and get one last home game for our seniors,” Bruinsma said. “I told the kids before the game, ‘Let’s leave a lasting impression.’ You guys have all played varsity basketball for four years, and it’s the last time your home fans are going to get to see you play. So let’s go out and play as well as we possibly can. I think in the second half we did that.”
— Bruce Robins
Class 3A-Region 2
Windermere 61, Cardinal Mooney 52
Class 4A-Region 3
Gulf 67, Booker 51
Baseball
Sarasota 9, Chiles 4: The sailors scored eight runs in the fourth to break open the game. Patrick Drymon hit a two-run double in the frame and finished the game with 3 RBI. Evan Whitlock went 3 for 4, scored two runs, and drove in one.
FRIDAY
Class 1A-Region 3 final boys soccer
Canterbury 2, Saint Stephen’s 0: After their regional semifinal match came down to penalty kicks, the Cougars didn’t waste any chances with a spot in the Final Four on the line.
Canterbury took advantage of a pair of transition opportunities to get on the board while the defense denied Saint Stephen’s, handing the Falcons a shutout loss for just the second time this season.
“We had prepared,” Canterbury head coach Jared Rust said. “We played it the way that we wanted to play it. I thought we executed one of our best games defensively in the middle third. I thought we were super organized, and it paid off.”
It was going to take a disciplined effort against an aggressive Saint Stephen’s squad that appeared to have the momentum early in the first half. However, the Canterbury back end held strong against the pressure.
“We knew that Saint Stephen’s was super aggressive, and we knew that they score a lot of goals,” Rust said. “They get a lot of bodies forward. They make it very difficult, so we tried to make a really intentional effort to try and slow them down with their attack because they put so many pieces in the middle of the field. And I think we were able to do that and really minimize their chances and maximize on the opportunities that we were able to create.”
The first came in the 33rd minute when sophomore Matthias Perez sent a ball downfield to senior James Tomlinson, who was able to deftly maneuver around the defense a for a flashy goal.
“The magic that James created in that goal to flip it over the center back’s head, settle it and put it away was just exceptional,” Rust said.
The Cougars replicated that success in the second half with Perez scoring in the back post in for another goal in transition.
“We’ve talked a lot catching them in a place where they were maybe too open, too exposed,” Rust said.
The Falcons upped the pressure in the second half, but the Cougars were up to the challenge.
“We tried to press them a little bit in the second half but because they’re such good soccer players, they just played around us, played through us,” Saint Stephen’s head coach Oisin Crean said. “Credit to them – they played really, really well tonight.”
The Falcons finish their season with a 12-4-2 record.
“It’s been a long time since we reached the regional final,” Crean said. “Really proud of them. We were competitive in the game – gave it absolutely everything we had.”
The Cougars improve to 17-2-3 and reach the state semifinals for a second consecutive season. The team will look to improve after falling 3-0 to St. Joseph in the Final Four last year.
— Dustin Levy
Class 1A-Region 3 final girls soccer
Canterbury 3, Out-of-Door 2: With a game they once had firmly in hand in danger of slipping away, the Cougars, as they have all season, got yet another jolt from their bevy of young standouts.
Minutes after being denied on a golden scoring opportunity, seventh-grader Kenley Peters put home the tie-breaking goal in the 63rd minute to push Canterbury past the Thunder and into the final four for the second time in program history.
“We’re immensely proud,” Canterbury coach Paolo Acosta said. “This has been our goal since last season. Last year, we fell short in the regional final so we just carried that goal over.”
The Cougars (18-5) dominated the first 40 minutes of Friday’s regional final against a tentative ODA squad, pressuring the Thunder’s defense with their speed. Freshman Gloriana Chalkias, who earlier had an apparent goal wiped away by an offside call, made her second opportunity count by deftly settling a cross from freshman Mia Accola and burying a shot into the top of the net to give Canterbury the lead in the 12th minute.
Eight minutes later, the pair struck again with Accola slipping a helper to a streaking Chalkias, who scored her team-leading 27th goal to make it 2-0 in favor of the Cougars.
“I love playing with her; every time she sends me the ball. I just feel so confident,” said Chalkias of Accola. “We definitely have a strong connection of the field.”
ODA (16-3-1), which was playing in its first-ever regional final, looked to have no answers for Canterbury and was fortunate to face only a two-goal deficit at halftime. First-year coach Megan Nugent said she used the break to implore her players to trust in their talent.
“We’ve had that happen a couple of times this season where we just get off to a slow start,” she said. “I just told them we’ve been down 2-nil before and we’ve come back. Sometimes they don’t believe in themselves like they should. They’re unbelievable players.”
Nugent’s message was received. The Thunder settled in quickly in the second half and finally began putting together some offensive attacks. In the 45th minute, junior Maggie Yull put away ODA’s first quality scoring chance, cutting its deficit to 2-1.
After Peters narrowly missed extending Canterbury’s lead with a rocket off the goalpost, the Thunder tied the game in the 54th minute when freshman Elle Rice knocked home a cross from sophomore Avery Rice.
“I’ll give credit to ODA, they came out with high intensity in the second half,” Acosta said. “I tried to give us a little bit of an inspired speech at halftime because I felt like we had the game so well in hand that we might take our foot off the gas pedal. And credit to them for making it a game.”
Chaikas nearly put Canterbury back in front just two minutes later when she broke loose and maneuvered around ODA goalkeeper Madeline Hierholzer, but lost the angle and put it just wide of the open net.
But Peters didn’t miss when she got another quality opportunity, again off a precise feed from Accola, who set up all three of the Cougars’ goals.
“She had a hat trick of assists and we love that,” Acosta said. “I love to see that unselfishness because she’s a very attack-minded player. As much as she wants to get on the scoreboard, the fact that she is happy to give the ball to other people in better positions is a great sight. Awesome job from her today.”
Like Canterbury, ODA is a youth-heavy team and will lose just two starters from this season’s history-making group.
“The future is so exciting,” Nugent said. “I will absolutely miss our seniors, but they are a team that’s developing week by week. It’s hard to go out, but someone has to lose. I’m so proud of how they played in the second half. They put their bodies on the line and they gave it everything. The future is bright for them for sure.”
For the Cougars, their future arrives next week in Auburndale when they’ll compete in a state semifinal for the first time since reaching the Class 1A state title game in 2021.
— Dan DeLuca
Girls Basketball
Class 7A-Region 3
Riverview 49, Palm Harbor University 48: Having lost to Palm Harbor University by 25 points a month ago, Riverview knew it faced a daunting task in a Region 7A-3 girls basketball quarterfinal Friday night.
But the Lady Rams were up to the task as Jadyn Brester’s putback of a missed free throw with 10 seconds remaining gave Riverview a 49-48 victory over the Hurricanes and sent the Rams on to the next round.
Riverview also had to contain PHU’s 6-5 center Leah Barker as it won its eighth straight game since the loss to the Hurricanes on Jan. 16.
“We’ve started playing really well together as a team lately. We started grinding and we’ve had a lot of grit lately,” Riverview coach Gerald Perry said. “We knew they were going to come in and be a tough team. We watched them play before, and that game sort of turned the corner for us. We didn’t compete in our last meeting like we did tonight and when we compete, anything can happen.”
The game was close throughout as the biggest lead for either team was six points. The Hurricanes led 26-25 at halftime, and the Rams took a 43-41 lead into the fourth quarter.
“I feel like we came in more mentally prepared,” Brester said. “I feel like the last game we played them we didn’t come in as prepared. This game we knew, since we’d already played them, that we had to guard the big girl differently. And I feel like we wanted it more. As a team we collectively pushed forward to get it.”
Points were hard to come by in the fourth quarter, and almost three minutes elapsed before Brenna Walters sank a 3-pointer to give PHU a 44-43 lead. Barker extended the lead to 46-43 with a basket before Taylor Davidson finally broke the Rams scoring drought. Barker got another layup to make it 48-45 but Davidson answered again to cut the lead to 48-47 with 1:40 remaining.
The Hurricanes kept the ball until turning it over with 47 seconds to go, but a Riverview turnover gave it right back with 30 seconds remaining.
Gabriela Morales got a steal and raced downcourt on a fast break before being fouled with 12 seconds left. Morales missed both free throws, but Brester was there to grab the rebound and lay it in to give the Rams the lead.
“I just knew I had to get the rebound and honestly just had to put it up there,” Brester said. “I knew if I at least took a shot we had a chance, so luck was in my favor and it went in.”
The Hurricanes still had a chance to win, but Walters shot was blocked out of bounds with 0.9 seconds left. PHU inbounded to Barker, but her shot was off the mark at the buzzer and Riverview escaped with the victory.
Barker finished with 24 points and 19 rebounds as the Rams did their best to keep her off balance.
“We found out that she was a left-hander,” Perry said. “So we did the best we could to take her right shoulder away. So she would have to reverse pivot inside to try to score. She did a really good job with it a couple of times, but she would have had to do it the whole game and do it late. They had an opportunity late. But we played really good defense and we got another one.”
Davidson led the Rams with 13 points. Ava Noto finished with 11 points and Morales added 10.
Riverview improved to 17-6 and will travel to Winter Haven for the semifinals next Friday night. PHU finished its season at 17-8.
Sumner 48, Sarasota 45
Class 6A-Region 3
Charlotte 33, Manatee 32: When Manatee looks back on this game throughout the offseason, it will remember one horrific stat: 1 for 11.
That’s how the Hurricanes shot from the free-throw line, and that proved fatal during Friday’s Region 6A-3 quarterfinal game against No. 6 seed Charlotte.
After beating the Tarpons in the District 6A-11 finals at home last week by coming back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit, the third-seeded Hurricanes had an opportunity for a repeat as they cut a seven-point deficit to one in the final minute.
This time, it wasn’t meant to be as the Tarpons thwarted two Hurricane possessions, including a shot at the buzzer to sneak off with a 33-32 win in a game that had all the finesse of a barroom brawl.
Charlotte’s Jazzy Smokes hit a short jumper with 5:10 left to give the Tarpons a 32-25 lead. It would be the last field goal Charlotte would make as the Hurricanes (22-6) chipped away, with Alexandra Williams hitting two jumpers, including a three, to cut the lead to 33-30 with 3:19 left.
However, she also missed two free throws with 2:15 left that could have cut the margin closer.
Ariyana Kirksey added a layup for Manatee to make it 33-32 with 51 seconds left. Manatee had two chances to win. However, Sammy Vega made a big steal with 12 seconds left, and Kirksey attempted a 12-footer at the buzzer that was short. The Tarpons couldn’t race into the locker room fast enough.
The game started innocently enough, with Charlotte getting out to a 13-10 first-quarter lead as Dasha Armstrong came off the bench to add offensive spark. The Tarpons would get only two more points in the half. The only reason the game didn’t get out of hand was that the Hurricanes didn’t do much on offense either. Hitting three shots and missing all five free throw attempts to make it 16-15 Hurricanes at the half.
Charlotte creeped ahead in the third as Dasha Armstrong and Dakota Galley hit from downtown, with Tamia Searls knocking one down to keep Manatee close.
Searls would make another three early in the fourth to cut the Charlotte lead to 28-25. Tice and Smokes would hit from inside to increase the lead to 32-25, setting up the finish.
Vega and Armstrong had eight points to lead Charlotte. Searls scored eight to lead the Hurricanes.
— Chuck Ballaro
Mitchell 52, Lakewood Ranch 40
Region 5A-3
Braden River 47, Hillsborough 46: The fourth-seeded Pirates will face top-seeded St. Petersburg on Friday, Feb. 20.
Class 4A-Region 3
Booker 67, Boca Ciega 33: The top-seeded tornadoes will host Weeki Wachee on Friday, Feb. 20.
Class 2A-Region 3
St. John Neumann 39, Bradenton Christian 27: Bradenton – Bradenton Christian’s girls basketball season came to a close in the regionals quarterfinals as the No. 7 seed fell to second-seeded Neumann.
“It was a rocky start for us,” Neumann head coach Josh Hardy said. “The girls however have persevered all year long, and I’m very proud of this group. We still have a lot to work on as we prepare for next week”
Freshman Layne would be the offensive leader for the Panthers (11-7) with 9 points, four rebounds, and three steals. Junior Avery Blunden led the way on the boards as she finished with a team-leading nine rebounds to go along with five points, while eighth grader Kenna Baker led the way on defense with seven steals and four points.
For the Celtics (20-7), senior Mylee Van De Wouw led the way with 17 points and eight rebounds, while classmate Gracyn Crosby followed with seven points and eight rebounds.
The first quarter saw the Celtics up 7-1 until Bluden was able to cut the lead to 7-5 following two baskets, which included a buzzer-beater. The Panthers stayed close in the second quarter as senior Neeva Townsend was able to hit two clutch three-point shots to cut the deficit by one following the end of the first half.
Defense was the name of the game for both teams in the third quarter as they each held each other to single digits with Neumann maintaining a 23-21 lead, but by the fourth quarter the Celtics would extend the lead to double digits before sealing the win.
“It was a great season for us, especially with this being my first year coaching girls basketball after coaching the boys team for so long,” Bradenton Christian head coach Scott Townsend said. “They really impressed me and got better as the season went on, so I’m just super proud of them. We knew this was going to be a tough game, but we missed too many free throws, which cost us. They still played their hearts out to the end.”
– Patrick Clines
Class 3A-Region 2
Cardinal Mooney 51, Calvary Christian 45: The fourth-seeded Cougars will travel to face top-seed Lake Highland Prep on Friday, Feb. 20.
Class 1A-Region 3
Victory Christian 77, Sarasota Christian 46
Girls State Weightlifting
CLASS 1A: Saint Stephen’s junior Emily Dowd captured gold at the Class 1A weightlifting championships in the 154-pound Traditional lifts with a 360-pound effort and was the Olympic runner-up with a lift of 305.
Other Top 10 finishers were: Traditional – 129: 9. Dana Barber, Saint Stephen’s, 270; Olympic – 119: 7. Shelly Dilorenzo, Cardinal Mooney, 270; 129: 5. Dana Barber, Saint Stephen’s, 260; 129: 7. Emily Smalley, Cardinal Mooney, 255; 169: 5. Grace Hullinger, Bradenton Christian, 285.
Baseball
Sarasota 10, Mariner 0: Sarasota scored seven runs in the fourth inning to cruise to the win. Cesar Garmendia earned the win, allowing one hit and no runs over five innings, striking out seven and walking one. Braedon Mackay has two runs and 2 RBIs, while Evan Whitlock and Kole Ayrault each had 2 RBI and a run.
Venice 2, Chiles 0: Jonathan Mauro drove in both runs for the Indians in the third inning as August Backman and Graham Houston (double) scored. Carter Cox threw four hitless innings with two walks and 10 strikeouts.
Parrish 4, Braden River 2: Ian Robinson went 2 for 3 with an RBI and Landon Straub had 2 RBI. Mason Plese threw 4 innings, allowed 2 runs with 6 strikeouts and Tyler Brown threw 3 scoreless innings with 3 strikeouts.
Sarasota Military Academy 6, Sarasota Christian 2
Girls Lacrosse
Academy of the Holy Names 19, Riverview 5: Ashley Eisenacher had 2 goals and a ground ball.
Boys Lacrosse
Bishop Moore 16, Cardinal Mooney 5: Duke Bergstrom scored 3 goals for the Cougars.
THURSDAY
Girls State Weightlifting
Braden River won the Class 2A Olympic state title with 28 points led by double individual state champion Payton Mangay-Ayam, who took the 129-pound Traditional state title with a lift of 340 pounds and the Olympic title with a lift of 335 pounds. Mangay-Ayam finisihed second in the Olympic Top Lifter ratings and third for the Traditional Top Lifter ratings.
Also placing in the Olympic Top 10 for Braden River were Angelina Nyguyen (205) and Erika Garcia (200), who placed seventh and ninth, respectively, at 101 pounds. Ellen Lehman took third at 129 pounds with a lift of 290 pounds. Taylor Ford took third and Emily Parcells fourth at 139 pounds with lifts of 315. Chloe Pogoda was the state runner-up at 183 pounds with a lift of 345 as was Jeaniya Edwards at 199 pounds with a lift of 350.
In Traditional, the Pirates’ Edwards took ninth at 199 pounds with a lift of 320.
Bayshore’s Shamari Roundtree with fifth in unlimited Traditional with 365 pounds and fourth for Olympic with a lift of 335 pounds.
Boys Soccer
Lakewood Ranch 3, Sickles 0: The Lakewood Ranch Mustangs showed why they are undefeated through 21 games this season in their Class 6A-Region 3 semifinal match against Tampa Sickles.
The Mustangs (19-0-2) dominated the Gryphons (13-6-1) from start to finish as they methodically marched to a 3-0 victory at The Ranch.
“Sickles is a good team, but we beat them up and down the field,” Lakewood Ranch head coach Vito Bavaro said. “We beat them to the ball. And we finished.
“We’re just playing really nice soccer. We’re putting it all together this year. We have no superstars, just guys who hustle and play for each other.”
The senior combination of Jaxon Lemus and Gabriel Lara got things rolling in the 11th minute of the match. Lara provided the assist and Lemus slipped the ball into the net from 7 yards out.
Lemus made things more comfortable for the Mustangs with only 1:36 remaining in the first half when he punched in a free kick from 24 yards away for a 2-0 lead.
Lakewood Ranch senior Louka Coue added extra insurance with 10:12 left in the match on a breakaway goal. Coue attacked the Gryphons and booted it home from 12 yards out.
The Mustangs were just as efficient on the defensive end, led by senior goalkeeper Gavin Moore, who collected eight crucial saves when it looked Sickles just might break through. It was Moore’s eighth shutout of the season.
“Gavin has been great all year,” Bavaro said. “They say offense wins games, but defense wins championships. We count on our goalie and defense to keep the ball out of the net.
“Our defense is solid. They pick up double teams. They’re just strong.”
The Mustangs now look toward the region final, where they will host Tampa Mitchell, the team that beat them in last year’s region final. Mitchell (16-5-1) beat Tarpons Springs East Lake, 3-0, in its region semifinal on Thursday.
Lakewood Ranch will host a region final soccer doubleheader on Tuesday. The girls team, which defeated Sickles, 2-1, in a region semifinal played on Wednesday night, will take on East Lake at 5 p.m. and the boys play Mitchell at 7 p.m.
The Mustang boys won their first seven games before a 3-3 tie at Sarasota High on Dec. 4. They also deadlocked at 2-2 at Tampa Jesuit on Jan. 8.
Everything else has been in the win column. Lakewood Ranch has outscored its foes, 90-16, this season.
Newsome 1, North Port 0: The Bobcats (10-8-1) lost in the Class 7A-Region 3 semifinal.
Baseball
Venice 11, Parrish 1: Austin Backman went 2 for 2 with a double, 3 runs and 2 RBIs, and Jonathan Mauro went 3 for 3 with a double and 2 RBI.
Sarasota Christian 6, Gulf Coast HEAT 3: Bronson Hoke threw five scoreless and hitless innings with two walks and 13 strikeouts to pick up the win.
Girls Lacrosse
Cardinal Mooney 14, Wiregrass 3: Kayleigh Bergstrom scored 5 goals and had 3 groundballs and 65% draw control. Gabby Ulrich scored 4 goals with 3 assists and Lauren Impastato scored 2 goals with 4 assists.
Girls Tennis
Riverview 6, Out-of-Door 1: Singles – 1. Kathleen Siddons (R) d. Tessa Dieterle 2-4, 4-0, 10-7; 2. Alex Rains (R) d. Naomi Hugill 4-1, 5-4 (8-6); 3. Alexandra Von Kaszner (R) d. Lia Slavov 4-1, 4-2; 4. Amina Matheu (R) d. Victoria Sevilla 4-0, 4-1; 5. Emma Pareto (R) d. Lily Levinson 4-1, 4-0. Doubles 1. Hugill and Dieterle (O) d. Alex Rains and Anastasia Carlin 4-2, 4-2; 2. Riverview d. Slavov and Sevilla 4-0, 2-4, 11-9.
Sarasota Christian 7, Indian Rocks Christian 0: Singles – 1 Stella Melchiorre (SC) def. Abby Behan (IR) 4-0/4-1; 2. Aubrey Eggebrecht (SC) def. Hadley Smith (IR) 4-0/ 4-1; 3 Haley Bolton (SC) def. Evy Pigott (IR) 4-0/4-4 (18-16); 4. Emma Ferraro (SC) def. Katherine Fesperman (IR) 4-0/4-0; 5. Sophia Ocasio (SC) def. Makenna Farrar (IR) 4-0/4-0. Doubles – 1 Melchiorre/Eggebrecht (SC) def. Behan/Smith (IR) 8-2; 2. Emma Ferraro/ Haley Bolton (SC) def. Pigott/ Joelle Mock (IR) 8-4
Parrish 4, Cardinal Mooney 3: Singles – 1. Vanessa Rossi (C) d. Eva Call 4-1, 4-0; 2. Aspen Strot (P) d. Blake Brush 5-4 (7-5), 2-4, 13-11; 3. Beti Kelley (P) d. Chandler Harkins 4-0, 5-3; 4. Lyla Hays (C) d. Claire McGirr 4-1, 4-1; 5. Juliette Buter (P) d. Piper Brewer 4-1, 4-2. Doubles – 1. Rossi/Brush (C) d. Strot/Call 4-1, 4-1; 2. Kelley/McGirr (P) d. Harkins/Hays 3-5, 5-3, 10-7.
Boys Tennis
Out-of-Door 7, Riverview 0: Singles – 1. Harrison Shepard (O) d. Bennett Stencik 4-0, 4-1; 2. Daniel Jacobs (O) d. John Shumway 4-0, 4-0; 3. Max Murphy (O) d. Shail Sastry 4-1, 4-0; 4. Cash Murphy (O) d. Santhiago Peralta 4-0, 4-0; 5. Michael Kolar Jr. (O) d. Garen Naidoo 0-4, 5-4 (7-5), 10-5; 5. Charlie Morton (O) d. David McSwain 4-1, 4-0; Doubles – 1. Shephard and Jacobs (O) d. Stencik and Shumway 4-1, 4-0; 2. Murphy and Murphy (O) d. Peralta and Sastry 4-1, 4-1.
Indian Rocks Christian 5, Sarasota Christian 2: Singles – 1 Cardon Chau (IR) def Prestons Hedge (SC) 8-5; 2 Sebastian Negron (SC) def. Owen Bonsack (IR) 4-0/ 4-4 (5-3); 3 Shawn Georgiades (SC) def. Jared Sherrill (IR) 5-3/4-0; 4 Connor Martin (IR) def. Dylan Byerly (SC) 4-0/4-1; 5 Mason Mahoney (IR) def. Warren Yoder (SC) 4-4 (5-0)/4-2. Doubles – 1 Chau/Bonsack (IR) def. Hedge/Finn Holt (SC) 8-1; 2 Sherrill/ Martin (IR) def. Negron/ Georgiades (SC) 8-2.
Parrish 7, Cardinal Mooney 0: 1. Mattias Maier (P) d. Brody Rees 4-1, 4-1; 2. Joshua Nicklis (P) d. Zachary Biles 4-0, 4-2; 3. Cooper Lane (P) d. Felipe Zarate 4-0, 4-0; 4. Makeon Tomlin (P) d. Josh Eisenacher 4-1, 4-1; 5. Chase LeGrady (P) d. Bryson Cohen 4-0, 4-0; Doubles – 1. Lane/Maier (P) d. Rees/Biles 4-1, 4-0; 2. Tomlin/LeGrady (P) d. Zarate/Eisenacher 4-1, 2-4, 10-6
WEDNESDAY
Girls State Weightlifting
Class 3A: Venice finished sixth as a team in the Class 3A state championship meet in Polk County with 10 points, while Manatee took fourth in the Olympic lifts with 9 points, and Parrish was ninth with 7 points.
Two area lifters came home with state championship medals. Manatee’s Sherrickia King won the unlimited Olympic title with a combined lift of 415 pounds, while taking fifth in unlimited Traditional with a 395-pound lift. Parrish’s Zoey Morelli won the 110-pound Olympic title with a lift of 315 pounds and was second in Traditional with a lift of 300 pounds.
Individually in the Traditional lifts, Venice’s Viviana Serrano was the state runner-up at 119 pounds with a 330-pound lift as was Carley Pomerleau at 183 pounds with a lift of 370 pounds. For Lakewood Ranch, Alexis Rissler was fourth at 183 pounds with a lift of 355, and Brooke Decillis was sixth at 129 pounds with a 310-pound lift. Riverview’s Sutton Odegard was ninth at 119 pounds with a 275-pound lift, Estanie Bornelus was fifth at 183 pounds with a 345-pound lift and Maya Crawford was eighth at 199 pounds with a 345-pound lift, while Sarasota’s Elizabeth Lawson took seventh at 169 pounds with a lift of 335.
Individually for Olympic lifts, Lakewood Ranch’s Rissler was the state runner-up at 183 pounds with a lift of 395 pounds. Riverview’s Odegard was 10th at 119 pounds with a 260-pound lift. Palmetto’s Madison Darnell was ninth at 129 pounds with a 285-pound lift. Manatee’s Hannah Braendel was fifth at 139 pounds with a lift of 295.
Girls Soccer
Lakewood Ranch 2, Sickles 1: Freshman Alyssa Pistone fired off a pair of rockets that found the back of the net on Wednesday night to lift Lakewood Ranch to a 2-1 victory over Tampa Sickles (12-5-4) in a Class 6A-Region 3 semifinal match.
Pistone scored a left-footed goal from 32 yards out in the 24th minute for a 1-0 lead and used her right foot to score from 35 yards away with just 2:58 remaining in the game. She now leads the Mustangs (15-2-3) with 12 goals and 9 assists this season.
“She is an incredible player,” Lakewood Ranch third-year head coach Cole Richardson said. “She has been a surprise this season. We all know what she is capable of. We’re happy to have her.”
Pistone wasn’t alone in standing out for the Mustangs. Junior goalkeeper Avary Shirley provided some crucial defense by recording 16 saves. She now has 186 saves this season.
“Ava really pulled through for us last season when she became our starting goalkeeper,” Richardson said. “She had an incredible game for us in the state semifinals, holding St. Thomas Aquinas scoreless in the first half before we lost 2-0. She really earned her stripes.
“We’ve been waiting for a game like this from her where she really had to contribute and do her job. She did really well in a high-pressure situation.”
Lakewood Ranch now looks to win its second straight region championship when it plays host to Tarpon Springs East Lake on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Mustangs defeated East Lake, 1-0, to win the region final last season.
East Lake beat Parrish Community High, 2-1, in its region semifinal on Wednesday night.
Lakewood Ranch won 11 straight games prior to dropping a 4-2 decision to Parrish in the Class 6A-District 11 final. The loss put the Mustangs on the road, where they topped Charlotte, 3-0, in the region quarterfinal round. Sickles defeated Tampa Mitchell, 1-0, to reach the region semifinals.
The only other loss Lakewood Ranch sustained was a 2-1 outcome at North Port High in the second game of the season on Nov. 6. The Mustangs opened the season at Parrish, where the two teams played to a 1-1 tie.
The Mustangs played Sickles to a 1-1 tie at home on Nov. 19. Lakewood Ranch has outscored its opponents by a margin of 61-19 this season.
—Jim Brockman
East Lake 2, Parrish 1: The turnaround season of the Parrish High girls soccer team ended on Wednesday night in a cloud of missed opportunities.
The second-seeded Bulls, 6-8-2 last year, saw their campaign end in a Class 6A-Region 3 regional semifinal match to East Lake, 2-1, on Parrish’s home pitch.
The victory moved the third-seeded Eagles into the regional title match at top-seeded Lakewood Ranch, a 2-1 semifinal winner over Sickles, on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Bulls finished their season with a 13-3-5 mark.
“I thought we were going to make it this year,” said Parrish head coach John Mentzer. Three years ago, Mentzer’s last as a Bull assistant, the team finished 17-1, losing in the regional final. “But it wasn’t meant to be.”
The Bulls will look back on the loss as one of missed chances, particularly in the first half. “We probably had seven or eight shots in the first 20 minutes,” Mentzer said. “Legitimate shots. (East Lake goalie Kiera Taylor) is a good keeper, and we couldn’t get it in. We could have scored several goals.”
After a scoreless first half, the Eagles went up 1-0 on a goal by Kylie Larrahona in the 42nd minute. As opposed to the first 40 minutes, when the Bulls carried the play, East Lake pushed Parrish in the second half, yet the Bulls still had their opportunities.
In the 69th minute, a header by Ana Martinez directly in front of Taylor was caught by the Eagle goalie. And a minute later, the Bulls couldn’t capitalize on a Taylor bobble in front of her net.
East Lake went up 2-0 on a tally by Addison Toth in the 75th minute. A goal by Parrish’s Arya Tanrisever cut the Eagle lead to 2-1, but it came with just a minute left. East Lake then ran out the remaining time for the victory.
“Had (a goal) gone in in the beginning, a totally different match,” Mentzer said. “I know we outshot them 3-1 tonight.”
The Bulls graduate five seniors, but have a host of returners. “Last year I had a very freshman-heavy team, and they got another year of experience,” Mentzer said. “Still a very young team.”
— Doug Fernandes
Newsome 3, Riverview 2: Newsome’s Gianna Savino scored a hat trick to lift the Wolves over the Rams (11-5-3) in the Class 7A-Region 3 semifinal.
Girls Lacrosse
Bradenton Christian 21, Saint Stephen’s 7: Juliana Bartz had 5 goals, 4 assists, and 8 draw controls, while Adelyn Bartz had 6 goals, 2 assists and 5 draw controls for the Panthers. Also scoring for Bradenton Christian were Cooper Hoeksema (3 goals, 3 assists), Audrey Cox (2 goals, 2 assists), Sadie Simonelli (2 goals, 2 assists) and Saylor Starr (2 goals, 2 assists).
Community School of Naples 17, Riverview 5: Maria Berzins had 2 goals, 3 assists, and 6 draw controls, while Ashley Eisenacher had 2 goals, and 3 draw controls. Olivia Berke scored a goal.
Boys Lacrosse
Venice 8, Bishop Verot 7: Aidan Sleigher scored 3 goals for Venice with Reef Bartlett adding 2 goals and an assist and single goals from Owen Alford (assist), Sean McMinn and James Coler.
Baseball
Sarasota 17, Imagine School at North Port 1: Brycen Volz earned the win, allowing three hits and one run (zero earned) over three innings, striking out six and walking none. Patrick Drymon had two hits and drove in three with a bases-loaded triple. Mark Metcalf had two hits, while Jacob Zeman and Kole Ayrault each drove in three runs. Alex Payton went 2-for-3 for Imagine School with two steals, while Brendon Norman had an RBI.
TUESDAY
Boys Soccer
Saint Stephen’s 5, First Baptist 3 (OT): Up 3-1 in the second half, it looked like Saint Stephen’s had a clear path to the Class 1A-Region 3 finals, but First Baptist was going to make the Falcons work.
The Lions tied the game in the second half, forcing overtime.
Six minutes into the first overtime period, senior Kieran Cloutier scored his 11th goal of the season and, second of the game, with an assist from senior Alex Holmes. Holmes added an insurance goal with his second of the game and 11th of the season, off another assist from Cloutier in the second overtime session to seal the victory.
“We were really excellent in the first half,” St. Stephen’s head coach Oisin Crean said. “We were 1-0 down and came back with two goals, which was quite good. While it was a close game, I give all credit to First Baptist Academy for the fight they gave us that put a real run for our money when they tied the game to 3-3 in the second half. Overall, it was a really good game.”
Second-seeded St. Stephen’s (12-3-2) will travel to Fort Myers to take on the No. 1 seed Canterbury (16-2-3) in the regional finals. Canterbury defeated No. 4 seed Out of Door Academy 4-3 in a shootout.
First Baptist would score first in the first half as senior Justin Diaz netted his eighth goal into the left corner before the water break. Five minutes after the water break, St. Stephen’s would hit the equalizer as Cloutier would send a goal past senior Logan Whitcomb on an assist from Holmes. Four minutes later, the Falcons would take the lead as Holmes would score with an assist from Cloutier to make it 2-1 before the half ended.
As the second half went underway, Cloutier would be fouled hard in the box and set up a penalty shot for the Falcons. Crean selected freshman Leo Martin to take the shot and the Falcons’ leading scorer would deliver and score for his 14th of the season to make it 3-1.
First Baptist (13-8-2) would not relent and started to make a comeback as junior Ryan Faris scored his 18th of the season with 19 minutes left. Two minutes later, senior Collins Swaby would hit the equalizer for his 19th of the season to send the game into overtime.
“I thought overall we did well and we had a really good fight to the end,” First Baptist head coach Kevin Sanchez said. “When we were down 3-1, it virtually hit us in the mouth, and then we came back and tied the game up. I think we’re a team that competes against anybody and we proved that by sending this game into overtime against the fifth-ranked team in 1A, so it just shows that anyone can play anyone at any given day, and I’m proud of this team overall.”
— Patrick Clines
Canterbury 0, Out-of-Door 0 (4-3 in PKs): Nearly two hours of regional semifinal action – largely dominated by the Cougars – came down to a few tense minutes on Tuesday night.
With penalty kicks determining a place in the Class 1A regional final after neither team could get on the board, Canterbury sophomore goalkeeper Tamas Hegedes came up with his second save in the sixth round, setting up senior Tristan Chaoui with a chance to win the game.
Chaoui caught Out-of-Door goalie Pierson Mann diving in the wrong direction and buried the goal to take the 4-3 victory in penalty kicks and knock the Thunder out of the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
“Ecstatic,” Chaoui said after the win. “I just can’t believe Tamas Hegedes is my goalkeeper.”
The outcome was a testament to Canterbury’s patience as the team controlled most of the contest but needed individuals to stay cool under pressure to win by the slimmest of margins against ODA.
“They always give us just an unbelievable game,” Canterbury head coach Jared Rust said. “I think we deserved the result with how we played, but they were excellent. Their game plan was excellent – they made it very difficult for us. We had a couple chances that we didn’t put away, but we’re grateful to be here and be at another regional final.”
The Cougars came out with a game plan of playing deliberately from the back end to control the flow of the game as the Thunder kept five guys back.
“I think we knew that we were probably going to have more of the ball, and so it was just honestly you have to be patient to unlock teams that sit so well like ODA does,” Rust said. “It’s very difficult to get behind them.”
Canterbury had their opportunities but couldn’t cash in as the game advanced through regulation and two overtime periods without a goal.
“We reminded the team multiple times that it’s an 80-minute soccer game, and today it was a 100-minute soccer game,” Rust said. “And you just have to keep working at it and you can’t get frustrated, you can’t lose patience because it doesn’t come in the first 40, 50, 60 minutes.”
In penalty kicks, Canterbury couldn’t take advantage when Out-of-Door missed goals in the first and third round. However, each time Thunder players – Jordan Tremblay, Quinn Duffy and Emiliano Torres – found the back of the net, the Cougars stepped up.
Max Pearson, Nico Bazan and Matthias Perez came through with successes on their penalty kicks with Perez’s score in the fifth round preventing the Cougars’ season from coming to an end.
“We’ve been talking about grit and finding who we are and making sure we stay true to who we are,” Rust said. “And they made save after save when we had the opportunity to jump in the lead, and then big players stepped up in big moments when their team needed them.”
Hegedes’ heroics gave Chaoui the opportunity to deliver for his team.
“I just knew I had to smash it, and that’s what I did,” he said.
— Dustin Levy
Girls Tennis
Bradenton Christian 6, Out-of-Door 1: Singles – 1. Victoria Vikulina (BC) d. Tessa Dieterle 5-3, 4-0; 2. Brooke Woolery (BC) d. Naomi Hugill 4-2, 4-1; 3. Samantha DeJongh (BC) d. Lia Slavov 4-1, 4-1; 4. Ava O’Keefe (BC) d. Victoria Sevilla 4-1, 5-3; 5. BC d. Lily Levinson 2-4, 4-2, 10-4. Doubles – 1. Vikulina and Woolery (BC) d. Hugill and Dieterle 4-1, 4-1; 2. Sevilla and Slavov (ODA) d. DeJongh and O’Keefe 4-2, 5-4 (8-6).
Pine View 7, Sarasota 0: The Sailors’ Selby Kirschner had a close match at No. 3 singles, falling 5-4 (7-2) and 4-2.
Boys Tennis
Pine View 4, Sarasota 3: Singles – 1. Alexander Dhanraj (P) d. George Blagden 4-2, 1-4, 10-7; 2. Dylan Weitzner (S) d. Ethan Nealis 5-3, 1-4, 15-13; 3. Eli Semones (P) d. Tavin Guengerich 4-1, 4-1; 4. John Paul Ganalis (S) d. Andrew Ferataga 2-4, 4-1, 10-7; 5. Finn Dingle (S) d. Valentin Dandonneau 4-2, 4-2. Doubles: 1. Rishik Yellu and Alex Dang (P) d. Blagden and Weitzner 4-1, 5-4 (7-5); 2. Leonardo Rossi and Daniel Vashkevych (P) d. Guengerich and Ganalis 1-4, 4-1, 10-4.
Out-of-Door 7, Bradenton Christian 0: Singles – 1. Harrison Shepard (O) d. Carter Young 4-0, 4-1; 2. Daniel Jacobs (O) d. Cooper Van Eerden 4-1, 4-1; 3. Cash Murphy (O) d. Jeffrey Undorf 2-4, 4-1, 10-6; 4. Michael Kolar Jr. (O) d. Blake Woolery 4-0, 4-0; 5. Charlie Morton (O) d. David McSwain 4-1, 4-0; Doubles – 1. Shephard and Jacobs (O) d. Young and Van Eerden 4-1, 5-3; 2. Murphy and Kolar (O) d. Undorf and Woolery 4-0, 4-1.
Baseball
Sarasota Christian 15, Gulf Coast HEAT 1: James White went 3 for 3 with 2 RBIs and 3 runs, Collin Lawson had two hits, including a double, with 2 RBIs and 2 runs, and Evan Poznanski had two hits with 3 runs scored and an RBI.
MONDAY
Girls Soccer
ODA 2, ECS 1: The Out-of-Door Academy made history on Monday night at Thunder Stadium by beating Fort Myers Evangelical Christian, 2-1, in a Class 1A-Region 3 semifinal match.
It’s the furthest any ODA girls soccer team has advanced into the FHSAA state playoffs.
It took a dramatic breakaway goal by freshman Elle Rice to break a 1-1 tie with just 1:53 remaining in regulation to get the job done. Rice slammed it home from 20 yards out to seal the deal.
“I knew if we got another breakaway opportunity, we could do it,” ODA head coach Megan Nugent. “I’m just so glad she put it away.
“It was such an even match. It was played with such high intensity from end to end.”
The late goal scored by ODA (16-2-1) was a tough pill for the Sentinels (13-6-1) to swallow.
“We knew this was going to be a tough opponent,” Sentinels head coach Melissa Bizier said. “But that was a heartbreaker. The girls have worked really hard. A goal in the last two minutes is really tough.
“I wish ODA the best. We gave them a run for their money. We look forward to next year.”
After a first half that was deadlocked at 0-0, the Thunder broke out on top, 1-0, in the 46th minute when sophomore Thalia Kodeh booted one into the back of the net from 15 yards out.
The score remained the same until Sentinels freshman Josie Bolinger made it 1-1 on a goal with 11:28 remaining.
Both teams put plenty of offensive pressure on each other throughout. Sentinels eighth-grade goalkeeper Nailah Marshall and Thunder eighth-grader Madeline Hierholzer each recorded eight saves.
The Thunder face a stern test in the region final at Fort Myers Canterbury (17-5), slated for this Friday at 7 p.m. Canterbury defeated Indian Rocks Christian, 3-1, in its region semifinal. Canterbury ended ODA’s season last year in the region semifinal round 4-0.
“This is school history,” Nugent said. “It feels unbelievable. I’m just so happy for these girls. They deserve it. They’ve worked so hard all season. This is the highlight for them, if nothing else.”
The Thunder defeated the Saint Stephen’s Falcons, 5-2, in a region quarterfinal match to reach the semifinals, and the Sentinels hit the road to top Bradenton Christian, 3-1, in their region quarterfinal.
—Jim Brockman
Somerset Academy-Canyons 3, Cardinal Mooney 0: The Cougars finish the season with a 7-5-3 record after losing the Class 3A-Region 3 semifinal to the top seed.
Baseball
Parrish 10, Bradenton Christian 0: Ian Robinson was 2 for 2, Denver McDonald went 1 for 3 with 2 RBIs, Tyler Brown went 1 for 3. Frankie Giustino threw 3 scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts to pick up the win. Weston Terrell threw 2 innings with 5 strikeouts.
Boys Lacrosse
Venice 20, Palmetto Ridge 0: Nine different Indians scored goals, led by Owen Alford (5 Goals, 1 Assist), Aidan Sleigher (3 Goals, 3 Assists), Sean McMinn (3 Goals, 2 Assists) and Reef Bartlett (3 Goals, 1 Assist).
Girls Lacrosse
Venice 19, Palmetto Ridge 2
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: High school: Which boys basketball teams won regional quarterfinals?
Reporting by Ed Reed, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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