The first Sarasota-Manatee high school football power rankings of 2026 are out, and Venice sits atop the heap after a Week 0 that shook up the local landscape.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune published its Super 10 poll Tuesday, Aug. 18, ranking the area's top 10 teams after FHSAA Kickoff Classic results settled the preseason speculation. Venice, which routed Gulf Coast 72-7 on Friday, Aug. 14, enters the regular season as the clear district favorite with four-star receiver Tyree Mannings Jr. and running backs Dorien Jones and Ira Dale Jr. leading a loaded offense.
The Indians' dominance was thorough. Mike Blakely and Dale each scored three touchdowns, and Mannings added two more in a game that was never competitive, according to Sports Illustrated. Venice went 9-4 last season before falling to eventual Class 7A champion Lake Mary in the state semifinals.
Booker cancels varsity season after coaching change, player exodus
The biggest local shakeup came before kickoff. Booker High School, which made three straight Class 3A state semifinal appearances and finished 12-2 in 2025, canceled its varsity season Aug. 12 after former head coach Carlos Woods was dismissed and more than 21 players transferred out. Principal Jamal Crook said the school would field only a junior varsity team this year while rebuilding the program. The FHSAA also placed Booker on administrative probation through May 25, 2027, and fined the school $500 for allowing eighth-graders to participate in spring varsity practices.
Booker's absence leaves District 6A-12 as a five-team race and erased what would have been a marquee Week 1 matchup: Venice at Booker on Friday, Aug. 21.
Riverview, Cardinal Mooney suffer lopsided Week 0 losses
Riverview took a hit in Week 0, falling 35-27 to Port Charlotte per unofficial results posted on social media. The Rams entered the season already dealing with the offseason transfer of running back Toryeon James, who rushed for 1,941 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2025, to Cardinal Mooney. That production void showed Friday night.
Cardinal Mooney, the defending Class 2A state champion, absorbed the most lopsided result of the weekend. St. Thomas Aquinas, the reigning Class 5A champion, rolled to a 36-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 49-0 shutout. Junior linebacker Travion Lester, who tallied 96 total tackles, 31 tackles for loss and 12 sacks during last year's title run, and the Cougars will need to regroup quickly.
Wellen Park wins first-ever varsity game behind Venice transfers
The brightest debut belonged to Wellen Park, which won its first-ever varsity football game 45-7 over North Port. Sophomore quarterback Noah Wireman went 7 of 14 for 191 yards and a touchdown, running back Will Campbell scored three times, and sophomore Curtis Bowdre returned the second-half kickoff 87 yards for a score.
"Honestly, I wasn't expecting this," Wellen Park head coach Sascha Hyer said after the Aug. 14 win. "You work for it, but when you're dealing with 15-to-17-year-olds, you don't know what's going to transpire."
About 35 players in the Eagles' program transferred from Venice, giving the new school immediate competitive depth.
Sarasota High also opened with a close Kickoff Classic victory. Senior linebacker Cooper Buck, who recorded 90 solo tackles last season, anchors a Sailors defense that will be tested when the regular season opens Friday, Aug. 21.
Week 1 kicks off Friday, Aug. 21, with Venice traveling to Rabun Gap in Nacoochee, Georgia.
