It's time to tee it up and kick it off

Week one of high school football is right around the corner, but for Venice and St. Thomas Aquinas, the season has already started.

The Raiders looked - well - just like last year. St. Thomas defeated Upper Arlington (OH) 52-7 in a game that wasn't even that close. I got a call from a friend who asked 'is St. Thomas that good or is Upper Arlington that bad'... both - I replied.

Venice didn't fair as well as Trey Burton matched up his Indian squad against Oscar Smith (VA) in a nationally televised game on Friday night. Burton had problems with the weather and the pass protection. One commentator said he 'runs like Tebow' but needs to work on his passing attack. I wonder if he meant he 'runs like Tebow' did in Tebow's senior season at Nease.

Burton will be hard-pressed to match last year's success run and I had some thoughts that Venice would give St. Thomas Aquinas a run for their money. Don't think that is going to happen, but watch out for Manatee. Joe Kinnan and the boys at Bradenton Manatee are ready for another shot at redemption and mark the Venice/Manatee game as a 'must-see'.

Meanwhile, Byrnes (SC) rolled over Central Gwinnett to start off the season 1-0. Byrnes will come to Brian Piccolo Stadium and play the Raiders later this year - that's a definite must-see event. This will be the first time that #1 and #2 have faced each other IN FLORIDA. Remember that Northwestern went to SMU and dismantled Southlake Carroll before over 35,000.

I don't think they'll draw over 35,000 for the STA/Byrnes game, but one has to wonder if they could - if there were a venue similar to SMU.

On that note, the only venue that would even be close - Lockhart Stadium - has a date with the wrecking ball after the 2010 football season. It's very sad to see Lockhart go.

Yusif Shakir's debut at Lincoln was short-lived. The first-year coach has been suspended from all football duties after a DUI arrest Saturday night in Tallahassee. Offensive coordinator and QB coach Mike Zatoris will take over the helm for the Trojans.

Kyle Rice, who led Lincoln to four straight playoff appearances after Dave Wilson retired - kicks off his season at Palatka this Friday. The Panthers host Bartram Trail and we'll be live from the Beef's in Palatka.

I'll have more for you as the week progresses, including the release of the pre-season Beef 'O' Brady's Top 25.